


A New Path

by Ookima



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Broken, Comfort/Angst, Eventual Romance, Falling In Love, First Love, Fluff and Angst, Internal Conflict, Love/Hate, M/M, Running Away, Slow Burn, Yaoi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-25
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:26:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 47,745
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26652133
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ookima/pseuds/Ookima
Summary: Naruto used to be able to stand it all, until the one person he trusted most, betrayed him. With only hate left in his heart, Naruto makes a decision that will forever change his life and those around him. Story currently rated M, will eventually become Explicit. Pairing : Gaara x NarutoSet after the Chunin Exams and Hospital roof fight between Naruto and Sasuke.
Relationships: Gaara/Uzumaki Naruto
Comments: 296
Kudos: 337
Collections: The Best Slow Burns





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> I use to be on FF.net back in 2004. I started this story and life caught up with me... So I discovered this lovely site during the pandemic and I decided to get back into writing!
> 
> So this story I originally started it back in 2004. So here I am with revising it and I'm going to finish it! My head is full of ideas and I hope you enjoy the ride as much as I enjoyed revision this story.
> 
> Please note that I have no "beta-reader" so I might have mistakes here and there.

* * *

  
On the training grounds, three students waited for their teacher once more, but the mood in the air was notibly tense. Both boys, Sasuke and Naruto stayed away from each other and Sakura found herself worrying if their fight on the hospital roof would happen again.  
  
 _POOF_  
  
"Yo, I'm sorry for being late, this young lady lost her make-up and - " Kakashi started to explain but was suddenly interrupted by the duo.  
  
"LIAR!" Naruto and Sakura both yelled out, pointing their fingers at at him.  
  
"Aren't we energetic today?" Kakashi mused, carefully flipping through his latest volume of Icha Icha Paradise.  
  
"What's our mission?" Sasuke tersely asked. He wasn’t in the mood for delays especially today.  
  
"We don't have one." Kakashi replied quickly.  
  
"WHAT?!" Naruto shrieked, outraged. All this time spent waiting, and no mission?  
  
"Due to the lack of teamwork lately, the new Hokage agreed to delay any missions for now." Kakashi informed them, disappointment shining in his visible eye. He wasn’t too happy with the decision himself, but clearly they had to work things out as a team before doing anything mission-related.  
  
"The old hag said that!?" Naruto asked, too angry to be ashamed.  
  
"For the last time, stop calling her that, Naruto." Kakashi scolded, frowning.  
  
Naruto rubbed the back of his head as he gave a wide smile to his sensei, unabashed.  
  
"If there are no missions I'm leaving." Sasuke gritted out as he moved to walk away.  
  
Kakashi’s visible eyebrow raised at his student, "Sasuke, I never said you could go home."  
  
"Training, I usually don't mind, but don't expect me to do so with that loser." Sasuke replied, turning around to face his sensei and then glaring venomously at Naruto.  
  
Hearing the last phrase out of his rival’s mouth, Naruto clenched his fists, "I'm not a loser, you bastard!" Naruto sho, glaring at the boy.  
  
"You're not even worth my effort anymore, you moron," Sasuke sneered with a cold stare.  
  
"Care to repeat that?" Naruto asked in what he thought was a menacing voice, but it came out as a petulant huff.  
  
"You’re not even worth my time. _You. Moron_." Sasuke drawled, repeating the words slowly, as if to a small child. “There. Happy?”  
  
If Naruto had any patience left in him at all, it was clearly out out the window. In a blink of an eye, he charged towards Sasuke, fists raised. Instantly, Sakura froze in place remembering that horrible fight on the hospital roof…  
  
Using his Sharingan, Sasuke easily countered every punch and evaded every kick Naruto tried to land on him. Kakashi waited on the sidelines, to see if something good could come out of it. Those two always had a tendacy to fight but often, they brought out the best out of eache other.  
  
It only took 2 minutes for Sasuke to land hard blow to Naruto's stomach, forcing the other boy to his knees. The last Uchiha stood above his unwanted teammate with a frosty stare while Naruto tried to catch his breath, hand over stomach.  
  
"I think that's enough for today, boys." Kakashi said, placing a warning hand on Sasuke's shoulder.  
  
"Wasn't even worth my effort." Sasuke sneered again, walking away.  
  
Naruto shakily stood up again, glaring at his teammate, "What the hell is wrong with you, bastard?!"  
  
"Time for you to wake up. You really think you can become Hokage the way you are now? You’re shit. You’re below shit. You're not worthy to be called a ninja!" Sasuke snarled, when again, Kakashi squeezed his shoulder.  
  
"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura gasped, shocked by the harsh words he spoke.  
  
"Sasuke, that's enough." Kakashi warned, voice low and even. The boy shrugged Kakashi’s hand off his shoulder as he took a step forward and looked straight into Naruto's blue eyes.  
  
"The only reason you made it this far is sheer luck and the fact that _I_ have been there to pull you ass out of the fire. Sorry to shatter your dream, you dimwit. To be Hokage, you must be the best, and you are truly the worst shinobi I've ever seen. Quit, make a _smart_ decision, for once in your life." Sasuke growled to the blond, his tone and expression icy.  
  
Naruto looked too infuriated for words, glaring murderously at Sasuke as he stood up and turned his back to Sasuke as he spoke, thinly veiled rage behind each proud word.  
  
"I never give up, and you think I'm about to start because of what a bastard like you just said? Ha!" Naruto snorted, walking away. Sasuke’s next words, however, stopped him cold in his tracks.  
  
"Maybe that's the reason your parents dumped you in a ditch to begin with. Because they knew what a failure you’d be, and they wanted nothing to with it! Wanted nothing to do with the... thing... they’d spawned." Sasuke bit out, cruel smirk on his face.  
  
Naruto stood, frozen, his back to them all.  
  
Sakura and Kakashi were stunned by the transformation of Sasuke, and the baseless hatred in his eyes. This was beywond rivalry between two people, that was pure hatred.  
  
"Y-you didn't mean that, right? Right, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked, unsure, with tears in her eyes. She had seen his cold side numerous times, but this was another level of coldness... How was _this_ Sasuke?  
  
"I'm just bringing that dobe back down to what normal people call reality." Sasuke replied, his smirk never leaving his face.  
  
"I see." Naruto said, taking a deep breath and without another word simply walked away. His voice betrayed nothing, but his stride was stiff, and jerked slightly.  
  
As Naruto slowly vanished from their sight, Sakura seemed unsure of what to do, so she walked home, deep in thought. Kakashi stared at his dark-haired student, face unreadable.  
  
 _'Things seem to have gotten bad...'_ Kakashi thought to himself, _'And this it's going to get worse, before it gets better... If it’s going to get better...'_ Those dark thoughts going through his head, he left the training grounds.  
  
 _'He didn't come back for a fight?..'_ Sasuke thought, bemused. Heaving a perplexed sigh, he too, left for home.  
  


* * *

  
  
Walking the streets of Konoha in the direction of his small apartement, Naruto received the usual cold stares from the village adults. He was use to it, but with what just happened a few minutes ago with Sasuke, it was irritating like hell. He never once raised his voice nor tried to pick a fight with them, yet they continued to persecute him daily. Hearing more and more whispers, Naruto simply stopped walking and gave them a very frigid glare as a warning.  
  
"We're not scared of you, Demon!" Someone in the crowd spat out, the others simply nodding in agreement.  
  
"Maybe you should start to be." Naruto snapped back, clenching his fists.  
  
"A threat? You're in no place to, Demon. We could easily kill you, right where you stand!" One of the villagers shouted.  
  
"You should have killed each other, a fight between demons, then life would be more enjoyable. A world without you, or that creature of the sand. Two demons dead, but no humans!" Another agreed, snickering nastily. They began to shout among themselves, voices clashing.  
  
"Whatever." Naruto replied tonelessly walking into his apartment and slamming the door shut behind him. He had had enough for the day.  
  


* * *

  
  
Now safe within his appartement, the boy looked at his reflection in the mirror pouring water over his face to try and physically cool himself down. He stared at himself for a long time, until his fist suddenly connected with the mirror and shattered into a hundred of pieces. With the glass now shattered on the wall and partially on the ground, he noticed the blood dripping from his knuckles. However after only a minute, Kyubi’s healing factor did its work, completely erasing any trace of the wound.  
  
"Even if I wanted to die, with him inside me, it couldn’t happen." Naruto said bitterly, collapsing onto his the bed.  
  
He stared at the ceiling for hours, replaying over and over again the words Sasuke said to him, like a twisted mantra. Naruto looked over his shoulder to his night-stand, the clock reading midnight already.  
  
"Why do I keep doing this? After all, the only one who ever cared was Iruka-sensei, but even then, he's never around. Loneliness is all I’ve ever known... The only time I didn't feel alone was when I met him...” He said, his voice dropping to a whisper. “Gaara of the Sand..." Naruto mumbled to himself.  
  
He sat up on at the end of his bed, looking at his hands.  
  
"Maybe... maybe it's time for Uzumaki Naruto to listen to what the others say." Naruto muttered, ripping the necklace from his neck that Tsunade had given to him. Right now, he definitely didn’t feel worthy of wearing it.  
  
Naruto stood up throwing the piece of jewerly on his bed. Determined to change his current state, grabbing a small backpack and filled it with only the strict necessary; weapons, scrolls, first-aid kit and food. He stared at the small table next to his bed. The very first kunai he had purchased laid on it. He was so proud of buying it that he engraved his first name on the hilt of it. He grabbed it and added it to his bag without a second thought.  
  
In the end, sadly he didn’t own much stuff.  
  
He took one last glance at his apartment, feeling uneasy to leave this place. Although most memories were unpleasant since he could remember, this had been _his home_ after all. He carefully placed a hand on top of his head, feeling the metal and cloth of the Konoha forehead protector at the tip of his fingers. He untied it, bringing it to his eyes, carefully looking at the object in his hands. He smiled mirthlessly.  
  
"I was so proud of myself when I got this, but in the end, it's only a meaningless piece of metal and cloth." Naruto spat in disgust, throwing it to the ground.  
  
Naruto hefted his backpack and shut the lights, leaving his apartment once and for all.  
  


* * *

  
  
Strolling through the village at midnight was easier than he thought it would be. Late at this hour barely anyone was awake, so it would definitely make things easier for him. Coming up on the gate, he noticed two shinobis who stood guard for any who entered or left the village.  
  
"And where do you think you're going?" The tall ninja demanded.  
  
"Away from this forsaken village." Naruto answered coldly, glaring.  
  
"Do you have papers showing you have the right to?" The second shinobi asked.  
  
"Yup. Right behind you." Naruto answered as he pointed behind the two guards.  
  
Both shinois exchanged confused looks before settling their eyes again on the blond in front of them. Then they turned around to see two more Narutos and both simultaneously lashed out, kicking the shinobis in the head, hard. Both now passed out on the ground.  
  
"I never thought that they would actually stop this demon from leaving their Village." He thought aloud, snorting in amusement. His two clones dissipated into smoke as Naruto finally crossed the gates and entered the forest. Freedom at last.  
  
"Farewell… to everyone and to my past," Naruto smiled wistfully, walking towards the forest. "My past is buried and my new life begins now." Naruto said solemnly, looking up at the great trees surrounding him.  
  
That night, Naruto put behind him the village that tormented him since he was born, along with the people he believed at one time were his friends, rivals. He needed to forget them. Most of all, he needed to forget the one person that had hurt him the most.  
  
Uchiha Sasuke.  
  
The shadows engulfed Naruto’s body, slowly leaving no trace to be see of the once happy blond young boy.

  
To be continued…


	2. Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoy Chapter 2 :)  
> Might have slight OCC, I always found it hard to gage Iruka's response /worry when it came to Naruto and what he would/could do about it.  
> Please note that I have no "beta-reader" so I might have mistakes here and there.

It was only at the break of dawn that the two shinobis who stood guard, started to wake up from their ordeal. They steadily rose to their feet when their replacements for the next shift rushed to them, visibly concerned.

“What happened?” The older man asked, his eyes quickly scanning the area for any signs of imminent danger.

“A young ninja fled the Village.” The other ninja replied, patting the back of his head, feeling the small bump forming.

“Can you identify him?”

The young man hesitated, but eventually answered. “I-I think it was _him_.”

Black eyes widened at the reference. “You must advise the Hokage immediately of this.” The tall ninja stated. No time could be wasted if that kid was now outiside the village without permission.

Both shinobis quickly vanished from sight to hand in their report but also to inform the Hokage of the unfortunate event.

* * *

Iruka always made sure to at least visit Naruto at least once a week since his former student graduated from school. He knew the boy always liked to share his stories about the missions Team 7 had dealt with. In addition, he clearly saw how happy Naruto to have someone to talk to, those blues eyes always sparkled with such joy at him or whenever he treated him to ramen.

He sighed at the door before him. He had already knocked 3 times in the last 2 minutes but nobody was answering. He grabbed a hold of the doorknob, turning it without feeling any resistance.

 _‘That boy must still be sleeping.’_ Iruka thought as he gently nudged open the door and walked inside the small apartment.

He only took a few steps in and something just felt _off_ about the place. He pushed his feelings aside and continued to advance until he finally reach the small bed that was never properly redone.

“Naruto?” The Chunin’s voice slightly lower than normal, but worried.

He was used to seeing Naruto’s small accommodation in a mess, but somehow certain items were definitely out of place. His eyes finally focused on the small shiny object that was left on top the disheveled bed. He carefully picked it up, instantly recognizing it.

“Why would Naruto leave the necklace that Tsunade-san gave him?” He asked himself, puzzled to see it now in his hands. Naruto had been so proud to have it in his possession after winning it from that woman. He’d actually swore to never take it off, so why was it here then? Shaking his head, he turned around and within a split second, he lost his footing, falling hard on his ass and ended up down on the floor.

“Ouch!” Iruka mumbled and proceeded to glare at the object responsible for his fall on the hard wooded floor.His eyes widened, his fingers tracing the Leaf symbol on the metal.

“Naruto would never leave this just lying on the floor like this…” He carefully eyed the room once more, before settling on the two objects in his hand. “What the hell happened here?”

He wasn’t panicking, yet, but alarms were definitely going off in his head right now. His first stop would be at the meeting grounds where he knew Kakashi and the rest of Team 7 would be in half an hour. He could only hope that this time, the Jonin wouldn’t be late.

* * *

Team 7, or at least 2 members of it were already present at the usual rendez-vous point. Sasuke was his usual self, hands stuffed in his pockets simply waiting for their sensei to show up while Sakura seemed to be debating with herself more than usual.

“Ne Sasuke-kun?” Sakura started, fidgeting her fingers.

“What?” Sasuke replied coldly, it almost sounded harsher than Sakura was used to.

“Don’t you think you were a bit hard on him yesterday?” Sakura softly spoke, remembering the harsh words from that moment.

“That idiot… I’m sure he’s fine.” Sasuke answered, closing his eyes in the process. This was not a conversation he needed to have much less with her. It was a simple argument just like any other arguments they’d had in the past.

POOF

“Good morning, I got stuck on the way because - ” Kakashi began his 100th excuse to explain his tardiness, but his eye quickly noticed that a certain blond was missing while Sakura seemed worried about something instead of fawning over the last Uchiha.

“Sensei, Naruto isn’t here yet…” She told him, eyeing the spot her blond teammate usually stood in.

 _‘This can’t be good.’_ He thought as he walked towards his student and placed a hand on her shoulder to reassure her. “Maybe he’s just a bit late this morning.” He smiled beneath his mask.

Not too far from them, they heard footsteps approaching them. Iruka came into view and promptly got everyone’s attention.

“Iruka, what gives us the pleasure of having you here today?” Kakashi turned to face the Chunin.

“Have any of you seen Naruto?”

“He hasn’t shown up for training yet so I asumed he overslept.“

“No, he’s not.” Iruka let out, he was definitely more worried now. “I found this on the floor and his apartment’s a big mess. His bed, looks like he hasn’t even slept in it at all last night.” Iruka showed him the headband and necklace.

“This isn’t good…” Kakashi said in a low tone, eyeing the items. He knew how Naruto valued these peticular items and what length he went to to safeguard them. “I never thought he would do something like this.”

“W-What do you mean something like this? Did something happen to him yesterday that I don’t know of!?” Iruka grabbed Kakashi’s wrist, demanding an answer.

Sakura just stared at the ground while Sasuke remained silent like always.

“Sasuke-kun and Naruto had a fight.” Sakura softly spoke, her left foot tapping the dirt beneath it.

Kakashi took a deep breath. “But this time, it went further than all the times before…” Kakashi began, knwoing full well once the situation would be shared, he’d definitely get an earful.

“Tell me what happened.” Iruka’s voice was firm, demanding.

Sasuke stepped forward, hands now out of his side pockets. “I told the idiot the truth about his life and to give up his dream.” Sasuke shared the short version of their spat, never once blinking as he looked into his former teacher’s eyes.

“You little -” Iruka grabbed Sasuke by the neck pinning him against one of the large trees.

“Stop Iruka!” Kakashi ordered him. He had rarely seen this side of Chunin and judging by the way this situation is going, it wasn’t going to get any better.

“Let me tell you something that Naruto wouldn’t dare to. Remember when your entire clan was killed by you older brother Itachi?” To simply mention Itachi had Sasuke’s eyes glaring hard at Iruka. But even so that didn’t stop him one bit. “All the pain you felt, it’s nothing compared to all the pain Naruto endured from the moment he was born up to now. He actually looked up to you as a friend, a sibling, and if I learn that it’s your fault, I’ll make you pay.” Iruka warned the boy, releasing his grip on him.

Sakura stood frozen in place as the scene unfolded, her hands carefully placed over her own mouth as if afraid to make a sound.

“Iruka calm down. We’ll go see Tsunade together to clear up things.” Kakashi placed himself between his student and the Chunin. “Sakura, Sasuke, training is cancelled today until I tell you otherwise.” Kakashi dismissed them before vanishing with Iruka seconds later.

Sakura timidly walked over to Sasuke, reaching out to touch his shoulder.

“Sasuke-kun are you alright?”

“Fine” He walked away before her hand could touch him. No point in staying with training cancelled for the day anyway. He shoved his hands once more in his pockets and left the area not once looking back.

* * *

Tsunade litteraly glared to death the stacks of paper that still sat on her desk. She barely had 6 hours of sleep and yet, there was still so much to do despite working 18 hours yesterday. She rubbed her temple, completely discouraged. Why in the hell did she say yes again to this stupid job? She barely had time to sit in the chair before the door to her office slammed open, quickly revealing Kakashi and Iruka.

“If the brat did something again - ” Tsunade sighed, warning the two men. This day was definitely not going to be a good one by far.

“Hokage-sama, we might have a problem.”

Before they could even start on that conversation, a second pair of shinobis barged into her office.

“What is with you people today, annoy Hokage day!?” Tsunade snapped, rolling her eyes.

“Please forgive us for intruding Hokage-sama, but we’re here to inform you that a ninja left the Village without any permission during the night.” The shinobi kneeled before her, followed by his comrade.

Immediately Kakashi raised his visible eyebrow in interest. Could it be..? “Can you describe him or her?” Somehow, he felt he wasn’t going to like the answer.

“Orange jumpsuit, messy blond hair, blue eyes, early teenager - ” The shinobi began his description.

“That’s Naruto!” Both Tsunade and Iruka shouted in surprise.

Tsunade quickly stood up from her chair, eyeing Kakashi first. Chances are he would most likely know the reason for the sudden desire to leave their village after all.

“Why on earth would he do something as stupid as that!?” She asked, both her hands firmly pressed on the desk.

“Well, things between Sasuke and Naruto haven’t been going too well. And yesterday, I think Sasuke hit a nerve … or two.” Kakashi explained, but getting another death glare from the blond woman prompted him to add a little more information. “To be exact, Sasuke mentioned something negative about his parents and his lack of skills as a shinobi.”

“Shit!” Tsunade cursed, her hands now forming fists, her knuckles visibly turning white from the applied pressure.

Although Iruka was silent for the moment, he knew better than to add fuel to the fire with his own anger at the situation. Right now, they needed to find Naruto and fast. They can deal with Sasuke later. He would definitely have a proper conversation with the prodigy as soon as Naruto returned safely home.

“You might want to hold on to these as well.” Kakashi said, sliding on the desk both the headband and necklace that Iruka handed him early. Tsunade looked carefully at them, knowing all too well the importance these items held in the young boy’s life. For him to leave this behind, things were not looking positively…

She took one deep breath, calming her nerves before speaking, “Get every available Jonin out there to find Naruto, and I want him alive, I’m not considering him a missing-nin yet.” Tsunade ordered them quickly.

“Hai!” All four answered as they vanished from Tsunade’s sight

Her office now empty, she couldn’t help but stare with such sorrow at the necklace.

* * *

Naruto had kept a steady but rapid pace throughout the night to give him at least some distance. He knew all too well that if the shinobis he knocked out hadn’t woken up on their own, the changing of the guard should alert them soon enough. The next thing that would most likely happen is he would be hunted down by Anbu. He could maybe take one on, but even so at his current level, his chances were pretty slim. If only he can leave Fire Country, his chances of success would go higher instead of lower.

He suddenly landed on a thick branch, quickly jumping to the side, his back pushed against the trunk, crouching to better hide amongst the leaves. He looked down, clearly seeing a small group of 5 armed people.

 _‘Just great I’m lost, I’m hungry and now there’s a bunch of nobodies in my way. Best to get out of here before they notice me.’_ Naruto thought, carefully scanning his surroundings for a stealthy exit plan, but apparently the tree had another idea.

_CRACK_

The branch cracked and fell towards the ground. Feeling the empty space beneath his feet, Naruto simply prepared to at least land on the ground feet first. No matter how he played it, chances were a fight would be happening. The question was how many can he take out before he’s stopped?

 _‘Kuso!’_ Naruto mentally cursed at himself. He was so focused guarding his back that he forgot to guard his front.

In seconds, all eyes landed on him. His entire body was ready to get the hell out of there, _fast_. But from the corner of his right side, he noticed that one of the 5 shinobis was already blocking that path.

“Going somewhere?” The shinobi smiled at him.

“Actually, I am, so if you could just let me - ” Naruto tried to explain but was cut off when a fist nearly connected with his face.

He quickly side-stepped the attack, grateful that this shinobi, although had caught him by surprise, his oversized figure had slowed down his attack enough to see it coming as the last second. Initially, the others didn’t seem to really participate, letting their 2 teammates take care of the problem until they noticed another 3 clones of the blond suddenly appear.

“Kage Bunshin no Justsu!” Naruto yelled out, finally tilting the largest shinobi and throwing him in the direction of the the other shinobi he was battling. Luckily for him, it hit dead-on.

And then they were three.

“Kage Bunshin is it?” That certainly caught the attention of the leader. “Doesn’t matter, you die today boy.” He motioned his his remaining teammates to attack.

Naruto and his 3 clones grabbed a kunai, ready to continue this battle. He charged forward towards what he assumed was the leader of the group. It only took seconds for the 3 clones on both sides to be destroyed by the second and third shinobi.

 _‘Man, I should of slept last night.’_ Naruto told himself, taking a few steps back to analyze the situation better. His own chakra was running low and he couldn’t stay there much longer.

“I say we skin the little bastard.” The second ninja suggested happily.

“I say we tare off his arms and legs.” The third ninja suggested, licking the tip of his own kunai.

Naruto reached behind for his back pouch, grabbing a few shurikens. In a swift but quick motion, he threw the shurikens towards the three nameless shinobis. He was about to make his move when his body froze in place, specifically his feet. The ground wrapped itself around his feet and legs, restraining him from any movements. His eyes widened when he felt a hand tracing the marks on his cheeks.

“Any last words?” The leader asked, his short sword in his left hand.

Naruto only managed to mumble a few words, that nobody clearly understood. The leader leaned in closer, curious to know what he said but was met with a hard headbutt on his face.

“You stink!” The blond happily grinned, spitting in his face.

Unfortunately for Naruto, the leader didn’t find it funny at all. The soil of the forest immobilized Naruto’s arms, making him an easy target. The leader closed his fist and punched the young boy numerous times in the face and ribs. Blood slowly came out of his mouth, followed by a few teeth and grunts.

“Time to end this.” The leader held up his short sword to Naruto’s throat.

 _‘Guess you were right after all Sasuke, I’m not worthy of being alive and a shinobi…’_ Naruto thought, closing his eyes.

“Now die!” The leader yelled out, the blade slowly piercing the fragile skin of the blond’s neck.

 _‘It can’t get worse any than this…’_ Naruto told himself, feeling a slight pain when the cold metal pierced his skin. He was going to die now. How pathetic was that?

The pain didn’t increase like he thought it would. Instead his ears heard the distinct sound of steel falling on the ground. The pressure that was on his neck no longer present. Then he heard it clear as day.

“Sabaku Kyuu”

Naruto eyes snapped open, widening at seeing his three opponents engulfed in what seemed to be spheres of sand.

“Sabaku SouSou”

At that very moment, the skies rained of blood and sand from those three unnamed shinobis. With his opponent now dead, the ground that held Naruto in place released. He fell to his knees, one hand tightly rested against his broken ribs. Strangely enough, the young boy couldn’t help but reach out extending his arm in front of him as the sand covered in human blood landed in the palm of his hand and his face. This technique belongued only to one person…

 _‘When I thought this couldn’t get any worse, boy was I wrong…’_ Naruto told himself.

Damaged blue eyes stared into cold green eyes.

To be continued…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again for your comments, they mean a lot!  
> I am happy that 15 years later, people are still into Naruto this much. I'm already working on Chapter 3!
> 
> Comments, reviews are always welcome and much appreciated =D


	3. Chapter Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoy Chapter 3 :)
> 
> Please note that I have no "beta-reader" so I might have mistakes here and there.

Damaged blue eyes stared into cold green eyes.

“G-Gaara?” Naruto let out, his eyes widened as much as they could considering the beating he just took. All those punches to the face… his right eye was pretty swollen, while the other barely half opened.

“I never thought to see Uzumaki Naruto kneeling before me.” Gaara stated, arms crossed as he stared down at the blond.

“Y-you!” Naruto tried to stand on his two feet but immediately winced, his body felt a jolt of pain across his chest and ribs. “Shit…”

Gaara glanced at the blond more carefully, immediately noticing the uneven breathing. But his attention drew to his face, specifically the forehead area where the normally his headband would be. The redhead noticed slight mouvement again which only resulted in more curses from Naruto.

“You have a few broken ribs.”

“Why did you help me..? We’re suppose to be enemies …” Naruto asked desperately, coughing. The metallic taste in his mouth was definitely not helping him at the moment. He tried to wipe out the excess of blood from the corner of his mouth with his right sleeve.

“Because, you intrigue me.” Gaara leaned forward, gazing into those wounded blue eyes. He was searching for something and maybe, just maybe the blond had the answer.

“What the HELL happened here!?” A male voice shouted 10 meters away from the pair.

Both Gaara and Naruto’s head turned around to identify the source.

 _‘As if I needed any more trouble.’_ Naruto was in no shape whatsoever to be in another fight right now, much less with Gaara present.

Despite his blurry vision, Naruto saw enough to recognize the adult male. It was the oversized shinobi he had knocked unconscious earlier and from the multiple shouting and curses he was hearing, he was definitely not happy with seeing the current color change of the forest.

“You’ll pay for killing them brat!” The shinobi charged forward, throwing more than a dozen shurikens in their direction.

“Gaara, he’s after me, leave before you get - ” Naruto somehow managed to finally stand, bitting his bottom lip to muffle his own groan.

Unexpectedly, the redhead moved in front of Naruto, his sand shield already in place to stop the weapons from reaching him. Blues eyes blinked at the scene in front of him. Why was Gaara protecting him again?

“There isn’t enough blood yet.” Gaara barely whispered, the sand shield slowly fell back on the ground with the shurikens it had stopped.

“What the - !?” The shinobi yelped when his feet became stuck in place. His eyes quickly focused on the ground as sand creeped up his body all the way to his neck. Panic started to set in, realising that he wasn’t able to move anymore. “What the hell are you?”

Gaara uncrossed his arms, his hand extended to the front as if to grab something. “Monster.” Gaara replied with a neutral voice, closing his fist. “Sabaku SouSou.”

Bloody rain fell for a second time.

“W-why?”

Gaara turned around, closing the distance between them, “If anyone is going to kill you, it will be me.”

Keeping himself vertical was much harder than Naruto anticipated in his current state. He shook his head a bit, attempting to shake off his vertigo. In the process, he ended up grabbing Gaara’s shoulder to steady himself.

“ **Kamaitachi!” A female voice let out as gusts of wind headed straight for Naruto.**

A powerful wind swiped him off his feet and propelled him hard against the nearest tree. His last sight was that of a blond female walking towards Gaara before darkness consumed him.

She landed next to him, accompanied by Kankuro as well, “Gaara are you alright?” Temari asked him, closing her fan.

Gaara promptly ignored her, his full attention was set unconscious blond that was 5 feet away. It wasn’t unusual for their brother to be silent, but the fact that he seemed focused on someone else was a little bit strange, so Kankuro took a chance.

“Ne Gaara, why are you here anyway?” Kankuro found it strange that Gaara had chosen to leave the village on a whim. Usually it had to be required for a mission to get him to actually leave the place.

“Because I felt he was here.” Gaara replied, walking closer to Naruto.

Temari and Kankuro exchanged worried looks but still followed suit. Temari kneeled down, placing two fingers on Naruto’s neck.

“Well, he’s still breathing. Although he’s in pretty bad shape.” Temari informed her teammates. Naruto was covered in bruises and blood, barely recognizable at the moment. If it wasn’t for the iconic blond hair and orange jumpsuit, they wouldn’t be able to identify him at all.

“So what do we do now?” Kankuro let out, unsure how to proceed at the moment.

* * *

Tsunade looked out her window, feeling a mix of emotions since the day began. As the 5th Hokage, she had to protect this village from possible threats, even if that meant hunting down a shinobi who ran away. However, she had grown fond of the boy and his damn smile, wanting nothing more to track him down herself and drag him back here with a severe scolding. So she did the what she could given the situation, informing Anbu to be on the lookout for a shinobi named Uzumaki Naruto, to be taken alive.

“They’re here.” Shizune popped her head from the office door.

Tsunade sighed, walking back to her desk. With the village still in chaos after the death of the Third Hokage and their own forces partially still wounded, she needed the help of the younger generation if she wanted to track down Naruto. It was a gamble and she knew it. These were his friends, people he knew, grew up with and for the most part highly respected them. She honestly hoped that their presence might be what sways Naruto back volontarily home. She didn’t even want to think about the other possibility right now.

The 4 Jonins now stood in front of her.

Her fingers were entangled together, elbows resting on the surface of the desk, “As of this morning, Uzumaki Naruto left the village without authorization. I need the you to to bring him back.” She informed them. Aside from Kakashi who was already aware of the situation, his comrades on the other hand were visibly shocked at the news. “Gai, Uchiha Sasuke will be joining your team temporarily for the search. As for Haruno Sakura, she’ll be on your team, Asuma.”

“Do we have any clue which direction?” Kurenai asked, still processing the fact a genin had ran away. It was possibly even worse knowing it was Naruto.

“Anbu reported some tracks that lead towards Sunagakure.”

“How much time?”

“He’s got a 6 hour lead right now.”

Asuma and Kurenai exchanged worried looks. Not only did they have to catch up to a 6 hour lead, but it was the direction of the Sand village. Tensions were still a bit strained since the attack during the last Chunin exams. Hopefully it wouldn’t come to them crossing paths with Sand shinobis.

“Bring him back home safely please.” She spoke softly her last demand. “Dismissed!”

“Do not worry Hokage-sama, we will bring him back!” Gai cheerfully grinned, giving her his signature thumbs up.

Her eyebrow twitched at the sight of Gai’s uncommon cheering stance. Both Kurenai and Asuma quickly left to regroup with their respected charges, while Kakashi remained behind.

“I’ll make sure your students come back safe Kakashi.” Gai patted his rival’s shoulder before leaving as well.

He simply nodded. Kakashi appreciated it more than anyone could imagine. His attention turned back towards Tsunade when she walked from behind the desk and made her way to him.

“Kakashi, while you’re out finding Jiraiya, be alert. If words gets out that Naruto isn’t here anymore, Orochimaru and Akatuski might take this opportunity to take Naruto and that would be bad for Konoha.” Tsunade let out, taking a deep breath. She didn’t want to think about these worst case scenarios, but she had to.

“I’m aware. I’ll do what I can and report as soon as possible.” He simply nodded, tracking Jiraiya down wouldn’t be an easy task but if anyone could reach Naruto, it would be that man.

He grabbed the door handle when he felt a hand on his shoulder for the second time tonight.

“Kakashi, this isn’t your fault. Don’t blame yourself.” Tsunade spoke gently.

“As much as I would want to believe that Hokage-sama, the boy was my responsibility and I should of seen this coming.” Kakashi replied and before anything else could be said, he vanished from her sight.

Deep down, Tsunade knew Kakashi wasn’t entirely wrong. But as his teacher, he could have handled it differently. Most of the adults had mistreated the Naruto one way or another. It actually angered her that the Third had done nothing to minimise the situation other then the rule. Her eyes focused on the sun outside, hoping that they could wrap this up quickly, for everyone’s sake.

* * *

Asuma quickly spotted his genin team less than 15 meters away and already he knew that this mission was going to be a challenge for all of them. He quickly lit his cigarette knowing the moment he revealed the details of their mission, many questions would be asked. The one to watch out for was Shikamaru, that boy would definitely want more information along the way.

“Asuma-sensei! So what are we going to do today?” Ino asked, excited about what new mission they would be doing. Hopefully it didn’t involve mud this time.

“Listen carefully, we’re doing an A ranked mission this time.”

“WHAT!? Those type of missions aren’t suppose to be for people like us!” Ino yelled out. She didn’t expect that today for sure.

Asuma took another puff of his cigarette, while Shikamaru had a finger in his ear trying to recover from Ino’s suddent outburst.

“Asuma-sensei, why us?” Shikamaru asked. It really had to be bad if they were sending genins out on these type of missions. Especially them.

“Ever since we encountered Itachi and Orochimaru the Village has been on high alert, all Anbu members are ordered to stay here, and only three teams remain that can be set out on this mission.” The Jonin explained, his eyes observing each one of the genins in front of him for their reaction.

“Three teams?” Chouji asked while munching on his usual potato chips. Even he found it abnormal.

“Kurenai and Gai’s team will be joining us on this one as well.”

“What about Team 7?” Shikamaru pointed out. After all, they had been 4 teams to graduate this year, logically why not use all 4 in that case?

“Team 7 for now is temporarily reassigned. Haruno Sakura will be joining our team while Uchiha Sasuke will be on with Gai’s.” Asuma ended, noticing Chouji stopped mid-bite, which was clearly a problem since he loved eating constantly.

“What about Naruto?” Chouji asked, puzzled that the prankster was apparently forgotten.

Asuma swallowed, he actually expected Shikamaru to call him out on this, not him. He quickly noticed Shikamaru looking him straight in the eyes, dead serious. So the brunette’s brain was already in processing every bit of information.

“The mission is about Naruto isn’t it?” Shikamaru’s voice was firm, unyielding.

“As of last night Uzumaki Naruto left the village without permission. Our mission to bring him back.” Asuma made the mission quite clear, stomping on his finished cigarette.

“Naruto maybe look stupid, loud and all, but he must of have had a good reason to leave in the first place.” Shikamaru let out, defiantely not pleased with what he heard. Although they weren’t best friends, one thing was certain about Naruto; he didn’t know how to give up. He wouldn’t leave unless there was a damn good reason and clearly someone knew why. The question was who?

Choji looked at his half eaten chip, suddenly loosing his appetite. He looked over to his best friend, hoping he knew more than what they were told so far.

“Don’t you think it’s weird?” He asked, Ino

The Nara shook his head, “We’ll know more when we join the other teams.”

“We leave in 5 minutes.” Asuma informed his team.

 _‘Naruto, why would you leave?’_ Shikamaru asked himself staring up at the few clouds in the sky.  
  


* * *

When Kurenai arrived, Akamaru rested on Kiba’s head and as usual he was arguing with Shino while Hinata stayed at a certain distance trying very hard to speak her thoughts but the words never left her mouth.

“Kiba you’ll discuss it later, we have a new mission.” Kurenai cut into the conversation.

“About damn time!” Kiba yelled out while his two teammates remained silent.

“The information I’m about to tell you is not to be repeated or told to anyone else understood?”

Shino and Hinata nodded their heads, Kiba and Akamaru exchanged puzzled looks for a few seconds until Kiba nodded too. Whatever it was, it sounded serious.

“Last night, Uzumaki Naruto left without permission the Village. We are to find and get him back here. We’ll have the help of Gai and Asuma’s team.”

Kiba nearly fell to the ground, “Naruto left!?” Kiba yelled out, surprised to hear this turn of events. Wasn’t he the kid who was bragging loud and clear about becoming the next Hokage?

 _‘Naruto-kun left?’_ Hinata eyes widened at the news.

“Can’t you ever stop yelling?” Shino said with a calm voice.

“What the hell did you say!?” Kiba yelled again, closing his fist and turned to face him.

“Kiba, that’s enough.” She quickly snapped at him. “For now, we’re going to join Asuma’s team and wait there until all teams are there.”

* * *

On the training grounds, Neji peacefully sat under a tree, arms crossed and eyes closed just listening to the sounds around him. His teammate Tenten sat on a branch of the tree above him, playing with a kunai.

POOF!

“Youth can be so beautiful.” Gai let out, seeing his two students so calm this early in the morning.

“Why are you here Gai-sensei?” Neji asked, his eyes remaining closed. They still had an hour left before their mission briefing for today.

“Hokage-sama gave us a new mission.”

“Another boring one I suppose.” Tenten commented as she threw a few more kunais to different targets nailed to various trees.

“It’s an A ranked mission.” Gai stated in a more serious tone of voice. Neji’s eyes opened, partially intrigued to where this conversation was going. Tenten stopped mid-mouvement from throwing any more weapons.

“What kind?”

“Missing-nin.”

“Aren’t the Anbu there for that?”

“Due to the recent conflicts, Anbu can’t be spared in order to protect the Village.”

“So who are we hunting down?”

“Naruto.” The jonin answered.

“EH!?” Tenten let out, almost dropping her kunai. That was definitely not the answer she expected.

“Naruto, as in Uzumaki Naruto?” Neji asked, wanting to confirm this was really the Naruto that he faced and lost during the Chunin exams. He uncrossed his arms and stood up, approaching his teacher.

“Yes.”

“That can’t be… Why would he leave in the first place?” Tenten really couldn’t believe it was just a genin and someone they partially knew due to his fight with Neji.

“There’s no information about that right now. But Hokage asked that we bring him back alive.“ Gai replied. “In addition, we’ll have the company of Uchiha Sasuke joining us very soon.”

“Why?” Neji nearly snapped at the name he heard.

“Hokage’s orders. Asuma and Kurenai’s team will be joining with us as well for the search.” Gai informed them.

 _‘You better be alive when I find you Naruto.’_ Neji thought looking at the blue sky before leaving to regroup with his team.

* * *

For once, Kakashi was actually on time like he said he would!

“Both of you are going on an A ranked mission.” Kakashi informed them, no point in turning around in circles considering they had to make up for lost time.

“An A ranked? Why? We’re still genins?” Sakura asked, puzzled by the ranking for the mission.

“Shouldn’t we wait for the idiot?” Sasuke asked, hands in his pockets.

“Naruto won’t come.” Kakashi answered, his eyes focused on the last Uchiha survivor.

“But, Naruto always whines about getting these kinds of missions and - ” Sakura started, but was quickly cut off by her teacher.

“Naruto is directly connected to our mission.”

“How?” This time it was Sasuke who asked the question.

“You see, for some unknown reason to us, Naruto left the Village without permission and knocked unconscious two guards. With Orochimaru and Akatsuki still roaming, Hokage wants us to find and get him back before things get worse.” The Jonin explained, earning him a slight raised eyebrow from the boy.

“Naruto… left? But why?” The pink-haired girl was shocked to hear this. Not 2 days ago her teammate was goofing around and being as loud and annoying as possible. To think he would just _leave_ like this was unthinkable.

“We don’t know, that’s why you, Sakura, are going to join Asuma’s team while Sasuke joins Gai’s team. Those teams will be dispatched to help search for Naruto.” Kakashi replied

“Why can’t we stay with you?” She asked another question. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to work with another team, but it just didn’t feel right…

“I was assigned to another mission. Meet your teams at the front gate now. The sooner you all leave to search the quicker you’ll be able to located Naruto.” Kakashi ordered.

Sakura gave a quick nod and headed immediately out to meet the teams. Right now she couldn’t be bothered looking back to her crush, this was an important mission and her focus needed to be on helping her other teammate.

A ahnd squeeze his shoulder, “What?” Sasuke snapped annoyingly at his teacher. He really didn’t like it when people invaded his personal space.

“I don’t know what happened between the two of you that made each other snap but we need him here. He needs to come back home.”

Sasuke stayed silent when he felt his sensei’s hand remove itself from his shoulder.

“If you find him first, be gentle with him. He suffered enough because of the people here, the last thing he needs is his closest friend to do the same.” Kakashi spoke very softly and then vanished from his sight.

Sasuke stared at the ground a few seconds, collecting his thoughts. “Did he leave because of what I said?” He asked himself.

* * *

Iruka sat on Naruto’s small bed, his eyes inspecting every inch of his former student’s room. He was desperately searching for more answers as to why the blond left. The Chunin took a deep breath, he could feel his chest and throat tightening at the thought of never seeing the boy again.

“Wherever you are Naruto, I hope you’re safe.” Iruka mumbled, closing his eyes, tears freely running down his cheeks and onto the floor.

* * *

Kankuro and Temari approached Gaara, their eyes surveilling the area one last time so they wouldn’t have any more unexpected guests.

“What do we do with him?” Temari asked, pointing at the unconscious blond on the ground.

“Well, he’s from Leaf Village so we could simply kill him.” Kankuro proposed an easy solution. “It’s not like it can be tied down to us with the other bodies here.

Temari kneeled down, attentively examining the blond’s body and settling on his head where the headband use to be. “We know he’s from Leaf, but he isn’t wearing his headband.” She stood up again, pointing at Naruto’s forehead.

Although Gaara was silent for the most part, he was thinking, rather analysing the situation that involved Naruto. The eyes he saw during their last fight compared to those of today, something had definitely changed.

“We’ll take him back to the Sand Village with us.” Gaara finally shared his thoughts.

“Huh!?” Both Temari and Kankuro were shocked. Yes they had noticed a cetain change in their little brother since his encounter with the Leaf genin, but they certainly didn’t expect to bring him home, much less … alive.

“Something’s been bothering me ever since the chunin exams. And he might have the answers I seek.” Gaara answered, walking away from the area.

The older brother and sister looked at each other, clearly neither of them understood what Gaara was talking about. For the moment, they shrugged it off. They needed to move quickly in case other shinobis were in the area. Temari, picked up Naruto’s small backpack while Kankuro carefully scooped up boy in his arms, carefully securing him, leaving Naruto’s head to rest against his chest.

 _‘Why doesn’t Gaara kill him?’_ It really puzzled him to see this other side of Gaara. His little brother had never shown interest in anything or anyone besides death. But since his match with this perticular blond, they had notice a change in him.

 _“Gaara, what are you thinking now?”_ Temari wondered, glancing over to Kankuro. Their eyes locking together, they definitely were thinking the same thing. Hopefully, this matter could be resolved once they were back home.

They quickly joined Gaara’s side in silence as he led them back home.

 _‘You will give me the answers I seek. Uzumaki Naruto.’_ The redhaired boy thought, momentarily he stole a glance to his right side seeing the blond securily in Kankuro’s arms.

To be continued…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this chapter! 
> 
> Things are slowly moving and we got a glimpse at our first interaction between Gaara and Naruto!
> 
> Comments, reviews are always welcome and much appreciated =D


	4. Chapter Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the 4th chapter! We get a bit more interaction between Naruto and Gaara so to speak.
> 
> Please note that I have no "beta-reader" so I might have mistakes here and there.

Strangely, Naruto felt cold, his entire body hurt at the slightlest mouvement. He finally took a chance and opened his eyes, noticing his vision was no longer blurry. Darkness surrounded him, he rose to his feet his eyes finally focused on the long metal bars that kept the demon fox sealed. He wasn’t conscious in the real world apparently…  
  
He approached the cage, standing a good 2 meters from the large thick metal bars when two glowing eyes appeared on the other side. Naruto couldn’t help but shiver at the sudden look. Those eyes were always filled with so much hate and anger, it always disturbed him when they spoke, or rather shouted at each other.  
  
“Only a brat like you could possibly get captured by that other demon brat.” The fox let out, grinning at the situation of the boy in front of him.  
  
Naruto snapped. “Shut up you stupid fox!”  
  
“Loudmouth brat.” Kyubi growled as he approached the bars. Although he hated being trapped inside a human, he was often amused when he could pick on the boy. Where people showed fear or disgust, this perticular human seemed different. He just wasn’t sure if that was a good or a bad thing yet.  
  
“Look, this has been the worse day ever and I don’t need you rubbing it in.” Naruto murmurred, sitting back down, arms and legs crossed while facing away from the fox.  
  
“Are you aware of where that other brat is taking you?” Kyubi asked, curiosity settling in.  
  
The boy snapped again. “How the hell should I know! Doesn’t matter anyway, as long as it’s far away from that damn Village.”  
  
For the first time, the fox cocked his head, unsure if he heard right. The human blond who kept shouting on rooftops that he would be someday the Hokage and the best shinobi in the village, now damning it to hell?  
  
“Well, I sense this demon brat is also interesting, so hopefully you won’t do something dumb to piss him off and get yourself killed, since we are heading for the Sand Country…” Kyubi chose to let that infromation out. He could have stayed silent, but where’s the fun in that?  
  
“Any place is better than Konoha… and death is more than welcomed at this point.” He let his body fall back onto the cold ground. Eyes staring up to what would be the ceiling. He slowly closed his eyes, unable to control the deep sadness that was taking him over as tears freely flowed to each side of his face.  
  
For once, the fox stayed silent and simply continued to watch over the boy.  
  
  


* * *

  
  
At Konoha’s gate, Asuma’s team was already present, waiting for Kurenai‘s and Gai’s to finally catch up. The Jonin looked up at the sky, they would be leaving within the next 5 minutes if they didn’t want to loose Naruto’s tracks. He was brought out of his thoughts when he heard somebody arguing in the distance.  
  
“This is going to be so troublesome.” Shikamaru stated as he saw Team 8 finally arriving.  
  
With no surprise, Shino was in the front, calm as always despite Kiba clearly having a onesided argument with the boy. Kurenai, although mostly patient at times seemed more annoyed at the present situation. The last member of the team, Hinata, wasn’t too far behind, keeping to herself and avoiding any eye contact if possible.

“Kiba, just stop arguing with Shino for 5 minutes.” Kurenai demanded of her student. The young boy murmured an objection but still obeyed his teacher.

Less than 2 minutes later, Sakura arrived. Alone.

“Sorry! Kakashi-sensei only explained the minimum about the mission… and Naruto.” Sakura stated as she found herself, looking over to her rival.

“Isn’t Sasuke-kun with you?” Ino asked, almost disappointed that he wasn’t here yet.

“No, but he should be here soon though.” Sakura replied and then proceeded shoot a glare at Ino.

 _‘Gai’s team better get here soon, the more time passes the less chances we have of finding Naruto…’_ Shikamaru knew that in these types of situations, waiting was just about the worse thing to do.

  
  


* * *

  
  


Many beautiful and young females bathed themselves in the hot springs, unaware that on the other side of the woodened fence, a white-haired man was observing them for _‘research purposes’_. Silently moving through the thick bushes he managed to find a large crack between the planks which gave him an excellent within the hot springs baths.

“Such beautiful young girls. At least I can sneak up on them without Naruto going loud on me and ruining my inspiration!” The Sannin barely whispered, his eyes scanning all these beauties forms and unique measurements.

Unfortunately for him, his fun was about to be interrupted…

“My my, Tsunade-sama and Naruto-kun were correct when they called you a perverted man. Jiraiya-sama.” Kakashi loudly spoke, loud enough his voice was sure to be heard from within the hot springs.

The older shinobi nearly stumbled onto his own two feet when he heard Kakashi’s voice. There stood the copy-ninja with his favourite book in hand, disturbing him during a crucial time. He quickly signaled Kakashi to lower his voice, francticly swipping his hand up and down in front of him. Kakashi couldn’t help but smile beneath his mask. By the time Jiraiya looked again, the Hot Springs were now empty!

The Sannin quickly stood up and looked Kakashi in the single visible eye. “I thought for ONCE I could have my chance, since that blond brat always interferes.”

“Tsunade-sama needs to see you right away.”

“Will you put that book away already!? And why would SHE need to see me anyway?” Jiraiya asked as Kakashi finally closed his book and placed it back in his pocket.

“It concerns the Village and Naruto.” Kakash’s tone was serious.

“What did that brat do this time?” Jiraiya asked, knowing all too well the boy had a tendency to get himself into trouble.

“He ran away.” Kakashi bluntly said, it’s not like he could say it another way.

“WHAT!?” Jiraiya yelled out, eyes widening. He certainly didn’t expect that.

“Right now, we just know that he left the Village during the night without permission. And With Orochimaru who wants to kill him and Akatuski who want the Nine-Tails, this could go from bad to worse.” The copy-ninja shared their initial concern.

“Damn it! I should have been there to stop him. Weren’t you suppose to watch over him while I was away?”

“The quarrels between Sasuke and Naruto continued but this time, it went a bit too far, but Naruto usually doesn’t let those type of things get to him.”

“So it went from bad to worse between those two then?”

Kakashi simply nodded. They could speak more about that perticular situation once they were with Tsunade and figure out what to do next. They lost no time and headed back to meet with the 5th Hokage.

  
  


* * *

  
When Naruto finally opened his eyes he found himself staring at a cream-like ceiling, so this was definitely not the Leaf village. He rubbed his eyes and immediately winced, as his left eye still seemed a bit swollen from the numerous punch he received hours earlier. He sat up, his hand reaching for his ribs, the pain was already gone from that attack. Had it not been for Kyuubi’s healing, he probably would be in worse shape right now.

 _‘Where the hell am I?’_ Naruto asked himself. His eyes searched the room carefully, until he looked to his right. His eyes widened as blue eyes met a pale green set of eyes with no emotions in them. _‘You have got to be kidding me…’_

Not 4 meters away, Gaara sat on the floor, arms and legs. “Don’t your ribs hurt?”

“Eh?” Naruto managed to let out, not really understanding what Gaara meant.

“You have a few ribs broken. And you sat up as if nothing ever happened.” The red-hair specified non-chalantly.

“Well…you see - “ Naruto started, but wasn’t really sure how to put things.“ - my chakra ends up healing myself automatically.”

Gaara paused. “Like my sand protects me.”

Naruto simply nodded, noticing that Gaara’s eyes seemed really fixated on looking into his own.

“Where am I?”

“Sand Village, my house.”

“And I guess I can’t just leave right?” Naruto asked but already knew what the answer would be.

“No, you can’t.“ Gaara answered. “Headband?”

“Headband? Man Gaara you definitely have to talk in phrases and not just words.” Naruto commented and then mentally slapped himself in the head for saying it out loud.

Gaara’s eyes narrowed. It merely took seconds for the atmosphere to go from odd to dangerously intense .Naruto swallowed hard, unsure if he should stay or run.

Gaara walked over to the blond, his finger giving one tap one Naruto’s forhead. “Where is your headband from your Village?”

Despite having Gaara inches away form him, Naruto almost growled out his answer. “I don’t belong to that stupid Village anymore.” The boy quickly glanced down at Gaara’s feet, his emotions no longer on the defense. He was more angry than sad about his feelings towards the village.

Naruto took a deep breath as he only said one thing to Gaara. “If you’re going to kill me then just get it over with.” Naruto snapped as he looked straight into Gaara’s eyes. They had previously fought nearly to the death, so why was he still alive now?

* * *

On their way to meet with the other two teams, Team Guy luckily crossed path with the last Uchiha survivor.

“The stunning Uchiha Sasuke arrives!” Gai almost shouted out proudly.

Neji and Tenten mentally slapped their forehead while Sasuke’s eyebrows twitched a little from hearing what Gai had just said. He had already crossed the man once during the first phase of the Chunin exam and was not impressed. Knowing time was of the essence, they continued to make their way to the rendez-vous point.

“Gai-sensei, do you have any more information that will help us locate and bring Naruto back?” Neji asked carefully, keeping an eye out on the new addition to their team.

“Unfortunately no. We hope to debrief you all on the way once we joined up with the other 2 teams.” Gai replied

Sasuke turned his head to look even closer to the Hyuga and seemed surprised by Neji’s concern and interest in his blond teammate.

“Why do you even care about that dobe?” Sasuke let out by curiosity. Although he wasn’t present for their fight at the Chunin exams, he knew well enough that Naruto had beaten Neji in the end. So why worry about someone who actually beat you?

“Because he set me free.” Neji calmly replied.

Upon hearing the answer, Sasuke stopped dead in his tracks. He stared at the Hyuga’s back trying to understand what he had just been told but nothing made sense to him. They all stopped. Neji glanced behind him noticing a slight flicker of emotion in Sasuke’s eyes. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but the cold bastard-like façade he always put forward, was now replace with uneasiness maybe?

He turned towards his teacher.“Gai-sensei. Me and Uchiha will catch up, please continue on without us.” Neji requested, knowing the issue had to be dealt with before even thinking about continuing this mission.

Although no words were exchanged between Gai and Neji, they fully understood each other at that moment. Under it all, it was one of the possibilities that Sasuke was in part due for Naruto’s departure, if Neji could get additional information on what happen it would perhaps help with their mission. Their teacher simply gave him a thumb up before continuing on his way with only Tenten at his side.

Neji’s attention returned to Sasuke. “My answer seems to have troubled you Uchiha Sasuke.”

Sasuke slightly raised his eyebrow at the statement. “How could he of all people set you free? How is that even possible anyway? You are already free.” Sasuke replied, annoyed that they were even having this conversation in the first place.

Neji couldn’t help but smirk at the comment. “I will show you why I use to be a prisoner of the Hyuga Clan.” The young Hyuga carefully untied his headband, revealing the mark on his forehead, the treacherous curse of the Hyuga Branch family.

Sasuke knew that many types of techniques were used to ensure unqiue bloodlines and abilities were kept from being copied, reproduced or ensure the safety of the clan but this was his first time seeing it in person.

“What is that?” Sasuke asked, his eyes were definitely focused on the mark.

“This is the curse from which the main family inflict upon us, the branch family. It’s called Juin Jutsu. It is used on every member of the Branch House, when we are young. This symbol, is activated when a member of the Branch House dies in order to seal the Byakugan ability so that our enemies never can discover it’s secrets. As well, the main family can activate it by doing a hand-seal, by chakra to trigger this effect. It gives the main house complete control over the branch house. This seal is given to the us, branch family house by force, and not by choice. In other words, the moment where we first take our breaths, our destiny is decided and there’s nothing we can do to change it.” Neji explained as he put back on his forehead protector band. Since becoming a genin, he really preferred not removing his headband.

“Then how does Naruto fit in all this?” Sasuke asked. Sure he learned something new about the Hyuga clan but it had nothing to do with Naruto.

“Before I fought him in the Chunin Exams, my anger towards the main family clouded my judgment. After all, I had blamed them for the death of my father, who sacrificed his life in order to protect his brother, the leader of the main family. To me destiny could never be changed and I foresaw the future with my Byakugan. When I fought against Naruto-san, I called him a dropout and he never gave up. In the end, he’s the one that made me realize that I can choose my own destiny despite this curse I bear. Just like my father told me. So you see, I was like a bird trapped in a cage, and Uzumaki Naruto opened the door to let me be free.” Neji finished as he opened his eyes and it showed both joy and sadness at that cconfession.

“Can’t believe that dobe could possibly do that.” Sasuke let out.

“That dobe, as you call him, highly respects you, even though he might have never showed it.” Neji started, walking closer to Sasuke.

“Why tell me all this anyway?” Sasuke was getting annoyed. This conversation was just poitnless and he would have much rather skipped it.

“Simple, you’re on the same team as him. Even though everyone calls him stupid, that boy knows the real meaning of pain and suffering. Yet he continues to smile all the time. What I’m trying to say Uchiha Sasuke, is that Naruto can touch the hearts of those that seem to have no hopes, no feelings, no emotions, like me and _you_. He would lay down his life without giving it a second thought.” Neji stated with a soft voice as he turned his back to Sasuke and started to walk away. “But like any human being, eventually it takes its toll and then he’s the one that needs our help.”

Silence crept up on them. In the end, Neji had said what needed to be said. He could only hope that whatever caused the problem between Naruto and Sasuke could be mended. “Come on, we need to catch up to them.” And with that, Neji sprinted forward to cath up with the other teams.

Sasuke clenched his fists as he lowered his head towards the ground, closing his eyes for a few seconds.

 _‘Perhaps, I knew this all along, but unlike you Neji, I wanted to avoid it… and so I didn’t listen to what he told me I ignored it.’_ Sasuke thought as he let out a deep breath. Either way, he apparently had about 6 hours worth of time to think about it.

* * *

For several minutes, Gaara could only stare into those blue eyes. He expected Naruto to talk to him, but really didn’t expect this type of reply. Finally he stepped away from the blond and made his way towards the door.

“I don’t feel like killing you right now.” The red-haired answered in his usual monotone voice.

For some unknown reason, Naruto suddenly jumped off of the bed and was actually blocking Gaara’s path, standing between the boy and the door.

“You’re just going to leave like that!? Aren’t you even going to ask me why I left that stupid Village!?” Naruto yelled out. All his life when something happened there was always someone that would scold him or demand an answer to why he had acted a certain way or did something. Yet, this Sand shinobi asked him nothing. It just didn’t sit right with him. So he blocked Gaara’s path by standing smack in the middle of the redhair boy and the door.

“Move.” Gaara simply stated.

“You’re not going anywhere until you tell me why the hell you brought me here and didn’t kill me yet!” Naruto yelled out, closing his fists.

Gaara simply took another step forward towards the blond. Naruto took a step back closing the gap between himself and the door. Then they heard a female voice coming from the other side of it.

“Gaara! How long are you planning to watch - ” Temari’s voice could be heard from on the other side.

Seconds later, the door opened and Temari rushed in, bumping into Naruto’s back. Still a bit unstable on his feet, Naruto felt the push of the door handle on his lower back and fell forward, his own face getting closer and closer to Gaara’s. Temari quickly regained her own balance after almost smacking the door in her own forehead, just in time to see Naruto and Gaara … kissing? Their lips crashed together unexpectly, their eyes widened at the realization of what was happening.

“Temari!” Kankuro yelled out as he stepped inside the room and almost regretted it. To say he was shocked was an understatement.

Grasping the situation, Naruto managed to fall back on his ass, right at the feet of Temari and Kankuro who were as shocked as he was.

“W-Why were they kissing?” Kankuro managed to let out, looking over to his sister for an answer. Never in his life had he expected to walk-in on his little brother kissing, much less to a former enemy.

Temari didn’t answer him, her eyes were focused on something much more dangerous... She noticed that sand was slowly pourring out of Gaara’s gourd as it gathered to his feet. Unconsciously, she moved her left foot back, readying herself for a quick escape if thinks when to shit.

Gaara’s eyes were focused on only one person in the room at the moment. “Uzumaki Naruto.” He almost growled as he raised his hand in front of him.

 _‘Oh crap, Now I’m definitely dead!’_ Naruto thought as his body started to tremble.

To be continued…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As I am getting back into my story, I still feel nervous about each chapter I post. 
> 
> For those who read it I hope you find it entertaining. Thank you again for those who comment, it makes me smile :)
> 
> Comments, reviews are always welcome and much appreciated.


	5. Chapter Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Big thanks to all that left comments and kudos! 
> 
> Please note that I have no "beta-reader" so I might have mistakes here and there.

Gaara’s sand slowly crept across the floor making it’s way to the blond boy, gradually wrapping itself around the body. Although no additional pressure was added to cause him pain, Naruto wasn’t able to move any limb at this very moment. The sand stopped spreading, mid-chest, leaving the boy with only his shoulders and head visible.

“Kankuro. Temari. Leave us.” Gaara ordered, no, he demanded them to leave at once.

“Gaara – ” Kankuro started to protest, glancing over to his sister for some help.

“Are you – “ Temari tried to clear the air, but when she looked back into those green eyes, they were anything but neutral. They held a darkness that reminded her when he was about to kill someone.

“Out or I’ll kill you both.” Gaara gave them his final warning, something he wouldn’t have done in the past.

Both felt a sudden chill in their spines. Their little brother was dead serious and they weren’t going to stick around to find out the outcome if they disobeyed. They timidly nodded before exiting the room once more. Before closing the door, Temari glanced back to the immobile blond and could only feel sorry for him.

When Gaara heard the click, confirming the door to this bedroom was finally closed, he walked closer to Naruto, never once breaking eye contact.

“Let me go!” Naruto yelled out, desperately trying to free himself from the sand’s grip.

“You’re going to answer me Uzumaki Naruto.” Gaara glared at the blond.

“Whatever.” The blond murmured as he looked elsewhere. He didn’t want to look into those green eyes anymore, especially when they were glaring at him like he was _nothing_.

In a strange utnr of events, he noticed that the red-head kneeled in front of him as the sand slowly withdrew itself from his own body. He looked up again, confused as to why he wasn’t kept in those sand restraints. Didn’t Gaara always kill people who ended up in his sand?

“What was that?” The red-head asked, slowly leaning forward as if trying to get his answer by staring into those damn blue eyes.

“Huh?” Naruto was definitely confused now. What was what? What the hell was he referring to this time? He blinked a few times, frowning at the question.

“What you did to me?” Gaara then brough his right hand to his mouth, two fingers softly pressing against his bottom lip.

“Eh..” The blond let out, a lot of things were going through his mind but that accident, wasn’t at the top of his list after being restrained by sand. “- that was an accident I swear I didn’t mean to!” He waved his hands defensively in front of him.

“What was it?” Gaara asked again, slightly annoyed.

“Kiss.” Naruto let out, his hands calming down on his legs as his eyes stared back to the ground. “It’s called a kiss.”

“I see. Why do people do that?” Gaara asked.

Naruto raised his head again and noticed that the red-head’s eyes was different. What held darkness and intent to kill seconds ago was now replaced by curiosity maybe? Naruto wasn’t sure, but strangely he didn’t feel threatenent by the other boy anymore.

“That’s what people do when they like someone else.” He finally answered softly.

“I see. Does that mean you like me?” Gaara asked

Naruto’s body jerked up at the question as he looked straight into Gaara’s eyes so that it was crystal clear that he did not accidently kissed him because he liked him. It was an accident. Period. “Hell no! Not like that anyway!”

“I see.” Gaara simply stood back up and stepped back from the blond, giving him space to stand as the sand slowly returned back into the gourd.

“Is that why you’re keeping me alive? To answer that stupid question?”

“No. I’ve been wanting to see you ever since our fight.”

“Why?”

“Because, the words you spoke to me during our fight, in your village made me think.”

“First of all, I’m surprised you even paid attention, second since when do you let other’s words affect you and last – “ He finally stood up as he patted the dust off his pants. “Leaf Village isn’t my home anymore.” The blond boy still kept a good distance between himself and Gaara as a precaution. He wasn’t their a guest but it wasn’t too clear if he was a prisoner either.

The red-head slightly tilted his head to the right, “Weren’t you the one who always shouted about becoming the greatest Hokage who ever lived?”

Naruto’s shoulders immediately tensed up.“Shut up! No one could understand me! NO ONE! They only hate me so I did them and the whole village what they wanted, I FINALLY LEFT! Their stupid little demon finally left!” Naruto shouted at the top of his lungs for anyone to hear. This _rage_ inside of him had been boiling for so long, he just couldn’t keep it in any longer. His own eyes threatened to betray him, slowly clouding his vision.

“What did they do to you?” It was a rare moment where Gaara was surprised. The few moments he had interacted with the blond, he was annoyingly loud, proud to be a Leaf shinobi and held his comrades and dream above his own life. To see this side of him, was… abnormal.

“None of your god damned business! I just hate that village and everything in it! JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!” Tears threatening to overflow, he simply rushed passed Gaara and into the bathroom, successfully slamming the door shut behind him.

At this moment, nothing else could be said or done. Gaara could only stare at the bathroom door but it didn’t go unnotice to him that Naruto was durious right now, he was also in a agony. Whatever happened in the village, it was definitely destroying Uzumaki Naruto.

“I’ll come back in an hour. Don’t do anything stupid. I don’t feel like hunting you down today.” Gaara stated as he left and closed the door of the bedroom behind him.

On the other side of the bathroom door, Naruto’s back rested against it as tears freely flowed down his cheeks.

_‘As if I have anywhere else to go…’_

* * *

Once Neji and Sasuke joined them at the gates, all three teams headed out into the forest. They quickly tracked down the last lead the Anbu teams had managed to find without being too far from the safety of the village itself. Gai was in the lead with Neji by his right side, while Kurenai and Asuma stayed in the back of the group.

Neji’s eyes looked up at the sky momentarilly, a few birds flew by them as they pressed forward based on the last Anbu intel they had. _‘I hope that I can help you as you helped me Naruto.’_ He calmly thought.

The normally lazy shinobi narrowed his eyes to the front, frustrated by the situation itself. So far the information they were given wasn’t much to go on but one thing was sure, if Naruto left of his own free will getting him to come back will definitely not be an easy task. _‘You better not be too troublesome when we find you.’_

While the remaining genins mostly kept quiet for now, following Gai’s and Neji’s lead, Sasuke’s mind was rather elsewhere. He couldn’t help but think back at the conversation he had with Neji. Although it was mostly one-sided, the words still weighed heavily on his mind.

It made him think back to his and Naruto’s last conversation from a few days ago. The conversation that probably started this madness in the first place…

 _“Deep down, I knew you were right dobe I just didn’t want to hear it and face the truth.”_ Sasuke admitted to himself for the first time, closing his eyes remembering it.

* * *

_FLASHBACK_

_After the incident on the hospital roof, Kakashi had pulled aside Sasuke to remind the basics of teamwork, protecting your comrades and friends._

_“Sasuke, go talk to Naruto. You need to talk things out with each other.” Kakashi stated firmly, still eyeing the young boy carefully. He had noticed the growing rivalry between the two but it had had a positive effect on both of them since they were put together in Team 7, but now with Itachi making a surprise visit, it seemed to only bring chaos once more._

_Sasuek looked away from his teacher, annoyed with the older man reminding him of such rules. He knew that they needed to talk, especially since his older brother seemed interested in Naruto. Although Sasuke still didn’t know why, he was definitely going to find out one way or another._

_It had been hours since Kakashi finally let him go with one task to do; talk to Naruto._

_Usually he wouldn’t put too much thinking into what they would talk about, but he knew too well that this time he had been the idiot. Charging in without a plan at his older brother, it didn’t take a genius to figure out things would turn bad…_

_His feet finally led him to Naruto’s apartment. He eyed the door, unsure if he should knock or not. He would soon find the answer seconds later._

_“What do you want?” A male voice asked clearly annoyed by his presence._

_Sasuke blinked, dark eyes staring into blue eyes._

_“We need to talk.” Sasuke let out, shoving his hands back into his pockets._

_“Just talk? Are you sure you’re not going to try and fight me again?” Naruto snapped back._

_“Baka just let me in.” Sasuke demanded, almost sighing at the other boy._

_“Welcome back bastard” Naruto gave a small smile as he stood aside to let Sasuke inside his place. He closed the door behind them and pointed at the small table in the room. “You can sit you know.”_

_“I’ll stand.” Sasuke answered._

_Naruto couldn’t help bu roll his eyes, exasperated, clearly this conversation was going to be short and unpleasant. He opted to sit down on the small couch, his eyes carefully fixed on his rival._

_“Well, talk.” The blond said, crossing his arms._

_“I-I shouldn’t of fought you back there. I wasn’t in my normal state…” Sasuke admitted in a low voice. Something he was definitely not used to do in his life. Period. His gaze shifted temporarily to the floor._

_“Kinda noticed that. But don’t worry about it, I actually accepted to fight you anyway, so it’s my fault too.” Naruto shared the blame. Their rivalry had a tendency to bring out the best and worst out of each other._

_Sasuke looked back up, somewhat surprised that the blond was actually calm and even admitting his part of wrongdoing? It was quite unusual to not see him being the brash loud-mouthed idiot._

_“Guess I’ll leave then.” Sasuke said, turning around and already heading back out. It’s not like he had anything else to say at the moment. As much as he wanted to talk about Itachi’s interest in Naruto, he felt the moment was not appropriate._

_Surrpised by sudden mouvement of his rival, without thinking, Naruto grabbed Sasuke’s wrist, effectivily stopping him from leaving right away. Yes they had talked about their fight, but nothing was said about the sudden appearance of Uchiha Itachi in their village._

_“Let go of me.” Sasuke ordered , glaring at Naruto._

_“Listen, I know you hate me, but why do you want to kill Itachi that much?” Naruto asked, not knowing the weight of simply mentionning that name would do. In a fraction of a second, Sasuke’s fist connected with his jaw, stumbling backwards._

_“You don’t know anything!” Sasuke yelled out as his Sharingan appeared. He was ready to fight._

_“Then why don’t you explain it to me then!” Naruto yelled back as he rubbed his chin._

_“You wouldn’t understand dobe! You never had any parents or anyone to care about you! I had to watch the death of my parents and my entire clan being killed off during 24 hours not just once but twice! That bastard only left me alive to hunt him down and that’s what I’m going to do!”_

_“And then what?” Naruto asked with a serious tone._

_Sasuke blinked. “What do you mean?” Sasuke asked, caught offguard by the question._

_“Once Itachi’s dead what are you going to do?”_

_“The resurrection of my clan.”_

_“And after that? What are you going to do?”_

_“That’s none of your damn business anyway!”_

_“Listen Sasuke, if you just go on only wanting to kill Itachi, you’ll become exactly what he wanted you to be. You keep saying how much you hate him but why do you do exactly what he wants you to do huh? You’re not strong enough to go against him alone right now!” Naruto yelled back to rival._

_“I’m stronger than you! I’m strong enough to kill him alone, I don’t need any help especially not a dead last like you.” Sasuke yelled out in anger, his hands closing forming fists._

_Naruto’s hand flinched a little when he heard the last words coming out of Sasuke’s mouth._

_“Going alone against Itachi you’ll loose! Strength doesn’t come from the hate Sasuke, but from protecting what you care most of. Let me at least help you in any way…” Naruto started to say_

_Sasuke raised his eyebrow, almost wanting to laugh at the blond. “Help me? I don’t need help! Especially yours!”_

_“Look, even though we’re rivals, I’ve always considered you like a friend, someone I could trust. Maybe you don’t feel the same way, but I’m serious. I know you would never ask for help, so that’s why I’m offering it. Besides we’ll both get strong, and then you can go kick Itachi’s ass and I’ll just watch.” Naruto offered._

_If the mere look in someone’s eyes could kill, Naruto would be dead right then and there._

_Sasuke glared at Naruto with such intense anger and rage that Naruto took a few steps back. But despite the fact he could get his ass kicked and beat like hell, he knew Sasuke needed to hear it, to hear the truth that others wouldn’t dare to tell him in his face._

_“Snap out of it you bastard! If you turn your back on your friends and comrades, become cold like ice, you’ll become just like Itachi! Is that what you want? To be exactly what you despise Sasuke? Because if you continue like that that’s what you’re going to become, consumed by darkness just like your brother.” There he finally said it._

_In one instance, Sasuke pushed Naruto up against the wall, his right hand tightly wrapped around the blond’s throat. His Sharingan falring up, filled with anger all directed at the boy. Even so, it didn’t stop Naruto from talking._

_“Sometimes it hurts to hear the truth, trust me I know. The pain of being alone, to be hated and all, I know it all too well. But if you’re going to kill your brother, then at least have some dignity and don’t become exactly like him…”_

_The fingers around Naruto’s throat tightened, slowly cutting off the flow of oxygen. Still Naruto stared right back into those red eyes, determined and unwilling to give up. Before he could think or do anything else, Sasuke’s other hand punched him in the gutt. He stumbled onto his knees, clutching his stomach at the sudden jolt of pain and lack of breathing._

_“You of all people could never understand what I went through! And you better stay out of my life from now on!” Sasuke yelled at him as he walked away and headed out of Naruto’s apartment._ _  
_

_Sasuke left as he slammed the door behind him for the whole complex to hear._

_It took him a few minutes to regain his breath “You’re wrong Sasuke, I understand more than anyone else about how you feel…” Naruto mumbled as he headed to his bathroom to clean his wounds._

_In the meantime, just outside the Uchiha house, Sasuke continuously punched thickess tree in the yard. Remembering each word that idiot spoke without knowing anything in reality._

_“Damn you Naruto!” Sasuke yelled out as his fist started to bleed from the impact of the hard wood. “DAMN YOU!”_

_END OF FLASHBACK_

* * *

They had finally arrived.

Although they spent the last hour in silence, anyone with half a brain could feel the tension that lingered in the air.

It was then that Sakura walked closer to Sasuke, noticing her teammate seemed a bit off since the beginning of this mission. “Sasuke-kun, are you alright?” She asked in a low voice.

He barely looked at her before responding, “Sakura. Concentrate on finding the Naruto.”

She flinched. His tone was much colder than what she was used to. Before she could even reply back to him, he walked away from her. All she could do was stare at his back; her shoulders slumped slightly forward, defeated.

Never too far away, her rival quickly walked up to her. “What’s wrong with him?” Ino asked in a much lower voice than usual so no one else would hear.

Sakura took a deep breath before answering her friend, “I-I don’t know...”

Kurenai snapped her fingers, getting everyone's attention on her. “Listen up, in all times, you stay in your assigned team. Each team will have their own area to cover." She looked over to Gai and Asuma who stood next to her. "Gai you'll take the North-West area, Asuma’s will be the West area, as for my team, and we’ll have the West-South area.” 

“What about the South area?” Sakura asked.

“Kakashi will cover that part with Jiraiya-sama just in case. But according to our info, we should find something in our areas.” Gai with a radiant smile.

Sakura's eye twitched slightly. She just really couldn't get use to his behavior. Shaking the strange feeling off her body as she joined Asuma's team.

"Shino will take care of relaying messages between us." Kurenai shared, giving a nod to her student.

The always-silent boy raised his hand where a dozen beetles as each one carefully flew to all members of their group, including Akamaru. The small dog couldn't help but scratch his head with his front paws when he felt the bug creep between his hair.

"Come on!" Kiba grunted as he looked at his companion who could only whine in return.

"Everyone." Kurenai said sternly.

With that settled, they continued on with their search, each hoping to find a trace of their friend quickly.

* * *

An hour had passed since Gaara had left the room with an angry Naruto locked in the bathroom. Hopefully, the blond would be calmer now.

As he made his way to the top of the stairs, a continuous loud thump caught his attention. He stopped, listening closer. He could clearly hear the thump, which almost immediately followed by 2 more that seemed more intense, louder than the first.

The redhead turned the doorknob to enter and as he entered, his eyes quickly focused in on the backside of the blond.

Thump...Thump, thump.

To Gaara’s surprise, Naruto was hitting with his bare hands the wall where the support beam stood uncovered. The sand-nin could only stare at the scene as the blond continued his assault. Shifting his body to what looked like a strong jab from his right fist followed by another jab and as quickly a cross with his left fist.

As Gaara stepped closer, he noticed tears streaming down those blue eyes. _‘Naruto is crying?’_

Naruto continued his onslaught of the beam at a much more rapid pace, cracking his fists as blood began taint the target and drip to the floor. Although his vision was slightly blurry, he finally noticed the presence of another person in the room. He turned around, not hiding his emotions any longer as tears freely flowed from his eyes.

“You were right Gaara...” Naruto’s voice cracked, “Back then, people like us, we can’t live in peace in a world like this... It’s kill or be killed.... They fear and hate what they can’t control.” Over and over, every whisper heard from the shadows replayed in his mind. It wasn’t just his fights with Sasuke that made him leave, it was just everything else.

Thinking back on their last fight during the Chunin exams, Gaara remembered clearly the _life_ those blue eyes held, despite the sorrow hidden in them. That never wavered even as Naruto crawled his way to him at the end, intent on killing him to save his friends. But the Naruto in front of him now, his eyes were… almost lifeless. What did the Leaf village do to break Naruto’s very soul?

Naruto just couldn’t hold it in anymore, his knees fell to the floor, his hands gripping each side of his head as his forehead rested against the cold floor. He didn’t know how long he stayed balled up like that on the ground, but at some point he felt something strong pull him closer, something that was soft and warm. He slightly let his left hand drop to the side of his neck to get a better view of exactly what was going on. That’s when he noticed that the source of warmth was actually Gaara. The redhead was kneeling close to him, carefully wrapping his arms around the blond as Naruto’s head gently rested on his chest near his shoulder.

Naruto could have resisted, but somehow it reminded him of Iruka-sensei. In a way, he was more surprised that Gaara was actually trying something. Although he didn’t know much of his history, he knew like him, his childhood was not pleasant to say the least.

He finally gathered the courage to just ask. “Why?”

“Because the one person who ever loved me, did this when I used to cry long ago.” Gaara explained, remembering all those small moments when Yashamaru comforted him and somehow his pain would vanish for the most part.

He was brought back to this moment when he felt Naruto’s hands tightening around his own waist as if his life depended on it. Gaara could only watch over the sobbing boy as his own chest began to ache with and unfamiliar pain.

“I don’t know what happened, but I’ll protect you, Uzumaki Naruto.” Gaara stated.

Blue eyes shot up, puzzled. “Why would you want to protect me?”

“Something inside me hurts.” He grabbed the fabric in his chest area. ”It’s been a long time since I had this feeling. And other than him, you’re the only person who can awaken this pain.”

“What..?”

“You are someone special to me.” Gaara repeated in lesser words. Naruto’s eyes widened in disbelief and right at that moment the redhead pulled the blond into a tight hug as he rocked him back an forth slowly.

 _‘I’m someone special…?’_ Naruto repeated to himself as he let his eyes closed and felt the warmth that embraced him.

To be continued…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tough chapter. I actually changed a lot in this chapter to better portray the emotions since I really sucked 15 years ago! 
> 
> Angst is on the menu but it’s not something that vanished one day to the next in my opinion. Gaara remains a very complex character and seeing as I wrote this before Shippuden was ever created, I feel good about this.
> 
> Thanks again for reading, commenting or kudosing!
> 
> Ookima


	6. Chapter Six

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all your comments, kudos and insights. They really made me smile ^_^
> 
> Please note that I have no "beta-reader" so I might have mistakes here and there.

Tsunade stood at the edge of the window, glacing down at the people who continued on with their daily chores unaware of the potential threat and danger the village could be in. Sometimes she envied them. She loved being a shinobi and even endured being the 5th Hokage but right now, she was regretting that decision deeply. The boy with who she had made a bet and lost horribly was now fleeing the very village he swore to protect and even become the greatest Hokage in history.

She sighed, shaking her head in disbelief. How could things turn out this wrong? Luckily, her two next visitors finally showed up in her office.

Kakashi started as he rubbed the back of his head. “Sorry for taking so long…”

“Keep your excuses later. Right now, you both need to go find Naruto.” Tsunade glared at the copy-ninja, walkeing towards the duo.

“Tsunade. Did he really just leave?” It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Kakashi, but for Naruto to suddenly drop everything and leave, knowing full well the consequences, he just didn’t get it.

Tsunade didn’t answer him and that was enough confirmation for the older shinobi. He shook his head in disbelief letting out of few choice curses.

“Have the teams left?” Kakashi asked in hopes to change the mood in the room. As much as Naruto’s presence usually brightened up the room, right now his absence was definitely being noticed.

“They left an hour ago and should already be at the last coordinates Anbu left me. You and Jiraiya will cover the South area.” Tsunade replied, handing him the piece of paper with the original coordinates.

“I disagree. If the brat wanted to leave, he wouldn’t go south, it’s unknown territory to him. He’ll probably go somewhere familiar at first.” Jiraiya stated.

“Unfortunately I can’t go by your hunches. If we can’t find Naruto and he falls into the wrong hands, we’re all in grave danger…” Her voice was low, almost irritated if you looked deeper into it.

Jiraiya looked away, pissed at the typical answer from a leader. But he also knew that having the title Hokage, came with its rules. If she followed her heart, she’d probably damn the village and go out there herself to search for Naruto. Now it was up to him to find the boy and fast.

“Hokage-sama, we understand.” Kakashi acknowledged.

She went back behind her desk, sitting in her chair, her left hand rubbing her temple. “Jiraiya, if you do find Naruto, please don’t kill him right away.”

“No problem. I’ll leave the killing to you, but he’s definitely getting a beating from me.”

They exchanged a small smile before the pair of shinobis left the Hokage’s office.

“You better be safe Naruto” Tsunade softly spoke to the now empty room.

* * *

Gaara didn’t know how much time had passed since he held the blond protectivily in his arms, but strangely he didn’t care. He had noticed that Naruto’s heartbeat had eventually calmed down which was a good sign that the pain Naruto was in was less present. He felt the weight of the boy’s head leave his chest, a bright pair of blue eyes looking into his own.

“Do you still want to know?” Naruto asked as he slowly pulled away from Gaara’s body. Not hearing a word from the other shinobi, Naruto rephrased. “Why I left Konoha, why I hate it…” He sat on his knees, hands carefully resting on top of his legs no less than a feet away from the redhead. His eyes never staying too long in the same place.

“You don’t have to explain.”

“For once, I feel like I can tell you the truth. So, you’ll be the first to see and know, who Uzumaki Naruto really is.“ Naruto began as he stood up, “Before I end it…” The last part barely whispered.

Naruto unzipped his jumpsuit top lowering it to rest on his hips. He completely took off his fishnet top, throwing it as his feet. Now his upper body, from his waist to his head was bare-skinned.

Gaara asked, “Explain why you’re half naked?”

“Just shut up and listen to me.” Naruto snapped back.

Gaara’s eyes twitched a little. How could this be the same boy that cried his heart out no less than 30 minutes ago? Uzumaki Naruto was certainly a hard boy to understand. Thinking about it, it was probably one of the reasons he felt drawn to him in the first place…

Gaara’s attention returned to the blond when he noticed Naruto’s hand firmly pressing together as he called out his normal chakra. Right then, the chakra slowly changed from the typical blue to a reddish color. Gaara’s eyes widened when a seal slowly appeared on Naruto’s navel area. The symbol ressembled a sun with a swirl in the middle and 8 small flames.

Naruto slowly slid one hand just above the Kyubi’s seal, “Have you ever heard of the great nine-tails demon fox Kyubi?” He asked.

The redhead’s eyes stayed focused on the seal in front of him. “Only rumors.” He responded.

“13 years ago, Kyubi attacked Konoha, my former village, for reasons that are still unknown. Many shinobis died and they couldn’t defeat it, until the Fourth Hokage came up with a plan - ” Naruto started telling the story they had been told a thousand times at school, too bad they never got to know the truth of what happened afterwards.

“The Fourth killed it.” Gaara commented. Despite not being taught the full history of other villages, when it came to the Kages, they all knew the stories.

“Actually, they didn’t have what it takes to kill such a monster, so instead the Fourth sacrificed his life and sealed the demon away in a newborn baby.”

“Seal the demon?”

“Yup. It was the only way they could think of back then. In order to seal Kyubi away, they sacrificed the baby to hold him within his own body.” He took a deep breath before saying out loud the last part of his story. “That baby, was me”

There stood Uzumaki Naruto, admitting out loud what had truly happened to himself and Kyubi. He never imagined his revelation would be to the sand-nin. He half expected it to be to his teammates. Who would have thought?

Minutes passed without a single word being said between the two boys.

“From the moment you were born, your fate was sealed to bare a demon as well… Just like me.” Gaara finally broke the silence.

Naruto couldn’t help but laugh at the comment. “But you knew about your demon. Me, I didn’t get to know until last year.”

“They wh - ” Gaara didn’t expect that. He was feared in his village and despised by his father since his birth, but he knew it was because of the one-tail beast inside him.

Naruto continued, “Ever since I was born, I lived alone in my apartment. I was always alone, but it didn’t stop there. The adults always gave me these cold glares and treated me like a monster. So of course, the children followed within the steps of their parents, they all ignored me and hated me, although they didn’t know the truth.” Naruto could remember all too well the snippy and harsh comments he’d receive daily since he could remember. “So I kept smiling and played pranks to get attention, I wanted someone to just acknowledge me…”

“Then why did you stay there when you were unwanted?”

“Well, I was the only one who failed the exam. And this other teacher, Mizuki, told me if I could show this special Jutsu to Iruka-sensei I would pass the exam and become a real shinobi. I stole the scroll of seals and learned the Kage Bunshin No Jutsu. But then Iruka-sensei found me, as well as Mizuki. It ended up that Mizuki wanted me to steal it so he could use it to his own advantages. It’s on that night, that I learned why everyone treated me the way they did. On that night, I discovered the Kyubi had been sealed within my very body. After some time, Iruka-sensei acknowledged me as Uzumaki Naruto and not as the demon fox.“ He paused momentarily. “I then graduated and that was the most happiest day of my life.” He smiled, thinking back on that very moment, when Iruka had given him his own headband.

“Then why leave now?” Gaara asked, continuing to observe the emotions he saw flicker through those blue eyes. Just the way Naruto explained the events of his childhood, he started to understand why the blond held such sorrow in them.

He shrugged his shoulders, tilting his head towards the left as his eyes looked at the floor. “Well after you guys attacked Konoha with the snake freak, Sasuke’s older brother appeared in the Village in search of me… Or more specifically he wanted the great power of the nine-tails. Sasuke then appeared, something about revenge for his clan, I didn’t actually understand it much at the time, but he made it clear for me to not interfere. He actually ended up in the hospital and I felt responsible. The moment I went to visit him, he wanted to fight me. So we fought, Chidori versus Rasengan. If Kakashi hadn’t appeared in time to break us off, we probably would’ve of killed each other right then and there. I guess Sasuke saw I was becoming stronger, but the truth is, the person I wanted most of acknowledge me, to see me, was him…” Naruto finished, finally admitting out loud what he truly wanted from his former rival.

Naruto took a few steps backs until his back touched the wall, leaning on it for support. He didn’t want to look into the other boy’s eyes, so he simply tilted his head upwards, staring at the ceiling.

“You left because of the _Uchiha_?” Gaara asked, almost annoyed.

“No” Naruto said sternly. “He was the icing on the cake. I’ve always hid behind my mask, always smile and never let out my real emotions. That day, when me and Sasuke fought again, he simply touched that part that I tried to hard to hide and ignore for so many years… He was right, because of what I am, I can’t become the greatest Hokage or even a good shinobi.” He paused, taking a deep breath. “You saving my ass earlier proves that. So last night, I just couldn’t take it anymore and left.”

This was exactly the type of situation Gaara had zero experience in. He was his father’s weapon after all, a weapon without emotions nor ties doesn’t need to know how to help with these type of situations. Despite that, Gaara kept his eyes on the fragile blond and waited to see what would happen next.

“Everyone would be better off if I just killed myself… At least then, I’d maybe be in peace…” Naruto murmured so softly, closing his eyes.

* * *

Not wasting any more time, Gai’s team quickly advanced in their respective area. After more than 30 minutes of running, he finally ordered the team to stop.

“Neji, take a look around please.” Gai asked his student, his eyes carefully scanning the trees for any recent broken branches and other clues, if any.

Neji brought his hands together and called forth his Byakugan. The nerves near his eyes appeared while Tenten and Sasuke stood 2 meters behind him, waiting for the next order.

Gai noticed the young Hyuga’s eyes seemed to focus on a perticular spot in the forest.

“What do you see?”

“One thousand meters from here, there’s a strange trail of chakra. It’s faint, but present.” Neji informed his sensei.

“Could it be dobe?” Sasuke looked ahead, almost hopeful.

“No.” Neji replied, glancing back at Sasuke.

“The only way to find that out is to check it out! Lead the way Neji!” Gai yelled out with a smile.

Neji led the way, as Gai and Tenten immediately followed. For less than a minute, Sasuke stayed in place, he grabbed onto a kunai just in case and quickly rejoined his _temporary_ team.

* * *

In another aea, Akamaru suddenly stopped and barked back at Kiba. “You smell it too eh?” Their noses had definitely picked up several distinct smells. They were very faint, but still present.

The other members of the team stopped in their track, waiting for the duo’s report.

“What does Akamaru say?” Hinata asked still a bit shy.

“Akamaru picked up Naruto’s smell because of the wind. Seems like his scent is stronger to where that weird teacher’s way.” Kiba answered.

“Y-You mean G-Gai-sensei?” She slightly stuttered.

Kiba simply nodded as Akamaru jumped back on top of Kiba’s head.

Kurenai placed her hand on her student’s shoulder, “Hinata, could you take a look towards Gai’s direction please?”

Hinata nodded, taking a step back as she joined her hands together and activated her Byakugan.

“Can she really see them from this position?” Kiba asked

“Neji-nisan s-seems to have found s-something…” She shared with her teacher and team. “T-They are moving quite q-quickly.”

“What do we do then?” Kiba asked. They were pressed for time and if one trail had been found, it was best to quickly follow-up on it.

“So far Naruto’s trail leads us towards Gai’s area, we’ll join up with them. Kiba, you and Akamaru will lead the way.” With that said, they decided to catch up with Gai’s team.

* * *

The last team came to a sudden stop when Shikamaru kneeled on the ground, carefully inspecting the fresh tracks crossing their own path.

“Shikamaru! Why the hell are you stopping!?” Ino yelled out, shaking her fist in the Nara’s direction. She had almost ran face first into the trunk of a tree thanks to his sudden stop.

“Keep quiet” Asuma ordered them with a stern voice.

Ino was about to object when Sakura quickly moved to her side, covering her rival’s mouth with her hand. Clearly her self control was the same as when they were at the Academy…

“What do you think Shikamaru?” The Jonin asked.

“Seems like a few shinobis were here, but something happened since their footprints are deeper towards that direction.” Shikamaru started to explain as he stood back up. He knew the only way for to get deeper tracks if you are either carrying additional weight or suddenly running to or away from something.

Shikamaru followed the footprints and came to yet another stop. He spotted a few dropplets of blood on the green leaves left on the ground. That’s when he noticed an additional footprints of a smaller size. Ruffling through the small bushes, his hand finally touched something cold. When he pulled the item out they all noticed it was a kunai weapon.

“These ninjas were running after someone, and that someone was Naruto.” Shikamaru informed the team as he flipped the kunai in his hand.

“How the hell can you know it was Naruto!?” Both Ino and Sakura shocked at the deduction from a simple kunai. Sure Shikamaru was a genius but come on!

The brunette stuck a finger in his ear, trying not to loose his hearing from their shouting. He turned around and got closer to his teammates, raising his hand to show the kunai

“Because he was stupid enough to engrave his name on this,” He smirked, somehow he wasn’t surprised knowing the blond. “Which is actually good for us.”

“He what!?” The blond kunoichi yelled out, astonished at his stupidity. How could any one do that in the first place? She looked over to Sakura, eyebrows raised in disbelief, hoping she could get a clearer answer from her since Naruto was her teammate after all.

Sakura softly smiled as she took hold of the kunai. “T-That would definitely be like him.”

“My guess is Naruto was at the wrong place at the wrong time. These shinobiss didn’t want to be interrupted or seen, and so the chase was on.” Shikamaru’s attention then turned towards the path.

“It seems that Naruto was running towards the North-West area after all. So it’s best if we head there and join Gai’s team.” Asuma mentioned before extinguishing his cigarette on the ground with his foot.

They all nodded in agreement.

* * *

Gaara simply stared at Naruto, barely hearing the last sentence the blond had murmured. “So it finally caught up with you.”

He glanced back at the redhead in disbelief at how he was taking the news so _nonchalantly_. “Aren’t you any bit scared of surprised or… _anything?_ ” Naruto let out.

“Why should I be afraid of something like that when I bare Shukaku?” Gaara answered. In truth, it explained even more why he was drawn to Naruto in the first place.

Naruto opened his mouth but no words came out.

They were more identical than he could ever imagine, but in the end it made no difference. The village he loved, sacrificed his own wellbeing over and over again, no matter what he would do, they would still only view him as the demon fox. That would never change.

“Doesn’t change anything… besides that bastard Sasuke will be more than happy that I’m dead and out of his way just like the rest of the village.” Naruto bitterly commented.

Gaara uncrossed his arms and made his way towards the door, grabbing hold of the doorknob. Hearing the light clicking sound, Naruto looked back at the redhead confused.

“Where are you going?” Naruto asked him as he took a few steps towards the boy.

Gaara barely turned sideways to catch a glimpse of the blond approaching him, his hand unsure if it should reach out to grab his arm to stop him.

“I’m going to kill that Uchiha.”

What happened next confused him even more. Naruto was… _laughing?_

The blond had crossed his arms against his stomach, slightly slumped over and laughing. After a good 30 seconds, Naruto lifted his head back up, trying to stand up properly. But the expression the blond had, Gaara had never seen nor understood. Naruto was actually laughing.

“I-Im sorry!” Naruto managed to let out as he wiped off the tears on his cheeks.

“Why are you laughing?”

“Because of what you just said, you sounded so serious.” Naruto chuckled at the joke.

“I was.” Gaara flatly said.

Naruto blinked once, then again. His smile slowly disappearing from his lips when he understood that the redhead was actually serious about _killing Sasuke_.

“Why would you do that?”

“Because he seems to be the source of your pain.”

“Don’t go and do that! I don’t want you to die because of me! I’m not even worth it!” Naruto snapped at the other boy.

“The only one who could defeat me was you.” Gaara reminded the blond.

“But still… Nothing good could come out of it. The reason I left is to be left alone for good, so I’ll just get out of your way and leave this village so you can go back on your normal killing spree or something…” Naruto mumbled the last part as he grabbed onto his backpack left on the floor by the bed. As Naruto walked past Gaara, the sand-nin grabbed the blond’s wrist and pulled him back inside the room.

“What the hell!?” Naruto glared at the sand-nin.

“I told you earlier, I have no desire to hunt you down.” Gaara repeated his earlier warning.

And just like that, they were back to square one.

“Why can’t any of you understand how I feel!? I’m tired of this world and all the people who live in it! Everyone will be happy that their demon is dead anyway! So just let me die in peace!” Naruto shouted back at the redhead. Why? Just why couldn’t anyone leave him alone now when he was ready to end it.

Naruto quickly ruffled through his backpack, the tip of his fingers finally feeling the weapon he saught. He took out the kunai weapon, not pointing it at Gaara, but flipped the deadly end towards himself. He took one last look, making sure that he would stab himself in the heart. He closed his eyes and pushed it into him, waiting for the pain to finally register…

But it never did.

He knew the kunai had struck something, but it was him. He could hear a faint dripping-like sound in front of him, was it blood?

Blue eyes finally opened.

“Why...?” Gaara asked, squinting his eyes painfully.

Naruto’s eyes widened at the scene in front of him. The sand barrier that normally protected Gaara, was forming somewhat a shielf in front of him. The kunai had actually embedded itself into the sand, effectivily stopping Naruto from killing himself.

Slowly, the sand started to crumbled from its position, falling onto the floor. Naruto looked over to Gaara noticing how the boy was slightly slumped over, his right hand pressing against the tattoo on his forehead.

“G-Gaara..?” Naruto let out unsure of what he saw in those green eyes.

“I told you, that you were special to me, and I will let no one harm you, not even if it’s yourself…” Gaara mumbled as the sand slowly retreated back into the gourd.

Effectivily falling on his ass, Naruto could only stare in complete shock at the sand-nin and the retreating sand. “I thought the sand only protected you, why did it…” The sand only moved to protect it’s user or to kill an opponent. So why did the sand _protect him_ of all people?

“What’s wrong Mother?” Gaara ‘s voice was strained as he fell to his knees, the pain only getting worse with each passing second.

“H-Hey!, what’s wrong Gaara?” Naruto crawled on his hands and feet towards the boy, he was scared but also worried for him.

“Why? Why did you do that Mother.” Gaara repeated over and over again. Never had his sand acted this way and this unexplained reaction, worried him. The pain was almost unbearable as his body began to tremble. He could feel his own inner demon laughing in the back of his mind. Whatever it found amusing, Gaara clearly wasn’t.

Naruto could only watch as Gaara’s eyes became lifeless. Unsure on what really to do, he placed his hands gently on Gaara’s shoulder, squeezing it firmly hoping to shake him back into reality. Getting no response, he figured the next best thing to do was call the redhead’s siblings, hell anyone!

“TEMARI! KANKURO! GET YOUR ASSES IN HERE!!! SOMETHING’S WRONG WITH GAARA!” Naruto shouted at the top of his lungs, hoping someone, anybody present in the household would hear him.

To Be Continued.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Naruto’s emotions are definitely all over the place and it’s why I kept the attempt to kill himself. Sometimes people who are desperate just do whatever comes to mind without really thinking about it. That’s how I felt writing the last scene.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter nonetheless. 
> 
> Comments, reviews are always welcome and much appreciated =D


	7. Chapter Seven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for my lateness! I got hit with writer's block and November hasn't been a good month for me (job and personal life). So here is chapter 7, I'm already working on Chapter Eight! :D
> 
> Thanks again for all your comments! It means a lot that people still appreciate it despite its old age. 
> 
> Please note that I have no "beta-reader" so I might have mistakes here and there.

Naruto’s eyes continuously tried to look into those green eyes, as the sand-nin pressed a hand against the sign love embedded on his forehead. The sand remained mostly on the ground although it moved in wave-like motion around Gaara, as if it was getting ready to defend him.

“Gaara, you gotta tell me what’s wrong.” Naruto let out, worried for the other one. The last time he had seen him clutch his head this way was during the Chunin exam and Konoha’s attack. But even if it looked similar, it was also different. Those green eyes weren’t angry or filled with killing intent, they almost looked in pain…

“I don’t understand…” Gaara screamed as he buried his head agaisnt the plams of his hands, grasping tightly.

As Naruto hovered so closely to the redhead, the bedroom door was switfly pushed opened, revealing Kankuro and Temari. The sand sibling’s attention immediately noticed their brother’s slumped form on the floor, shaking uncontrollably. The last thing they needed was for that demon Shukaku to reappear smack in their village much less in their own home.

Snapping out of it, Kankuro rushed over to both boys, the puppet master grabbed with ease Naruto by the neck, smashing him into the wall hard. By instinct, Naruto’s hands grabbed Kankuro’s arm, trying to loosen his grip on him.

“What the hell did you do to him!?” Kankuro demanded to know.

“I-I don’t know!” Naruto barely manage to get out, the fingers on his neck tightening with each passing second.

“What did you do!?” Kankuro repeated himself, seething with anger.

Upon hearing her brother yell, she carefully walked towards her younger sibling to seek answers.

“Gaara, is it because of _it_?” Temari asked in a low but calm voice, almost fearing the answer she would get.

“I-Its…Naruto…” Gaara mumbled as his breathing ragged.

“Naruto?” Temari repeated, surprised at his answer. She looked over to Kankuro, unsure of what to actually do at this point.

He tightened again his grip on blond’s neck, not really caring at this point the damage it may cause. “For the last time. What did you do to Gaara? And answer or else I break your little neck for putting my little brother in pain again.” This was his final warning.

Naruto felt Kankuro’s fingernails breaking the skin of his neck, yet he didn’t oppose the action. Instead, he let his hands fall on his side as his vision became blurry, eyelids becoming too heavy to keep open.

“Kankuro, don’t kill him before we get the answer!” Temari reminded him when she noticed the blond’s lack of resistance.

Gaara’s head snapped up when he heard Temari. Two single words kept echoing in his mind; _kill Naruto_. He raised his right knee first, attempting to stand up despite the increasing pain in his head. The sand from his gourd, almost stealthily advancing towards Naruto and Kankuro.

She immediately reached out trying to help her littlre brother. “Gaara, don’t strain yourself!” She let out, worried to see him push himself so much, and for what?

Before Temari could even think of a possible reason, pale hands quickly shoved her aside, resulting on the kunoichi falling flatty on her ass on the floor. She could only stare in shock not only at Gaara but at the sand that slowly expanded more and more on the floor.

“Let go of him Kankuro.” Gaara warned his brother, with only one eye painfully glaring at him while on of his hand still clutched his forehead.

When he heard Gaara’s voice, that _deadly tone_ , Kankuro shivered. He finally chose to turn his head around to face his little brother. When their eyes met, he couldn’t help but swallow hard.

“Now.” Gaara was dead serious, now standing on both feet.

Without a second thought, Kankuro obeyed and let go of Naruto.

The blond barely had time to break his fall, landing on both knees with a hard thud. He had one hand carefully rubbing his neck while the other pressed against the floor to support his body weight. His breathing was fast and erratic, accompanied by several hard coughs. It took him a minute to finally regained some of his senses.

He slowly opened his eyes, seeing Temari almost trembling 2 feet behind Gaara, while the redhead seemed fixated on Kankuro who stood right besides him. Naruto glanced upwards, noticing the fear in the puppet master’s eyes with each painful step Gaara took towards him.

He looked back at Gaara, his blue eyes reflecting ever so clearly his current emotions; sadness and despair while the sand-nin’s were reflected pain and confusion.

At that very moment, they both recalled the great battle between them right after the sound-nins and Orochimaru attacked Konoha Village. How Gaara’s eyes always looked like he was a lost boy, not aware of his true place in the world. Unlike him, Gaara didn’t have anyone who acknowledged him once, like Iruka-sensei did. But in the end, even if Iruka acknowledged him, it wasn’t enough to overcome the harsh words spat on him daily by the villagers.

Seeing Gaara again, made him realize more than ever, that Gaara’s words were very true that day, just like Neji’s were when he fought against him. It’s then, that Naruto noticed, they were more alike then he initially thought. But he had always hoped that even if he put on his false happy mask, things would get eventually better. _But it was a lie._

Kankuro inhaled sharply when he felt something grip his feet, his eyes widened when he noticed the familiar yet deadly sand slowly creeping up on both legs up to his knees. Temari still didn’t dare to move from the floor, much less when she noticed the panicked expression on her brother and the sand slowly covering his lower limbs.

She glanced back at Naruto, noticing his facial expression changing.

Naruto slowly smiled, as many thoughts crossed his mind and most of them revolved around why Gaara saved him twice, and kept him alive? He then noticed that maybe, deep down, he wanted someone to save him. After all, he understood Gaara better than everyone since they both had demons sealed within them.

_‘Loneliness.’_ Naruto thought, finally realizing that althought they were different in many ways, they both sought the same thing. They both didn’t want to be _alone_ anymore. He glanced at the sand that now held Kankuro in place. And then it made sense. “Okaasan doesn’t want me gone does she?” Naruto whispered softly, his eyes softening no longer afraid of the distinct look those green eyes held.

“Okaasan?” Both brother and sister repeated in complete shock.

Naruto did something unexpected... He crawled closer to redhead and gently cupped his face whilst softly smiling.

_‘Gaara’s already talking to IT?’_ Kankuro thought as his body started to tremble more when the sand reached his waist.

“I promise I won’t do it again. So please, go back to sleep…” Naruto whispered as he looked straight into Gaara’s eyes.

A few seconds later, Gaara’s body gradually stopped shaking and the pain seemed to disapate. The redhead removed his hand from his forehead, staring in disbelief at it and then looked back at Naruto.

The sand stopped moving and reversed back towards Gaara. Seeing the cork besides the sand-nin’s feet, Naruto grabbed it and once the sand was completely within the gourd, he stuck the cork back in.

The siblings couldn’t believe what they had just witnessed. Never had anyone been able to calm down Gaara, much less in the beginning stages of the transformation. Yet Naruto had done this not once, but _twice_!

The tensions from moments ago now gone, Naruto simply sat back on his ass, hands pressed against the floor behind him for support, as he then looked out the window. He looked almost in peace.

Temari started. “How did he…”

“How could that brat do that!? It’s impossible…” Kankuro let out with a weak voice, stepping back until his back hit the wall.

“Uzumaki Naruto, how did you…” Gaara wanted to ask but stopped, when he noticed how Naruto was now looking outside.

“I know what it’s like to have a demon remember? Sometimes, they have an urge to protect their host. And sometimes they even want to protect what their host desires but aren’t aware of it yet.” Naruto smirked.

He remembered when he fought against Haku and Sasuke sacrifices himself for him. Yes it was triggered by his emotions but in the end, that damn fox could have just stayed dormant if he wanted.

“What the heck is he talking about?” Kankuro let out.

_‘Could Naruto be like Gaara?’_ Temari wondered.

* * *

The team finally arrived to where a dangerous fight seemed to have taken place. Gai took point as he carefully advanced ahead of their group and examined the area.

“Something big happened here” Tenten broke the silence, noticing the broken branches on several trees.

Sasuke kneeled on the ground, one hand ruffling through the dirt with his fingers. It felt familiar to him but he just couldn’tput his finger on it quite yet. He looked up at the damaged trees, and could see clear as day covered with a thick black-reddish substance that spread around 10 meters in diameter. His eyes hovered back to ground level, where the grass was stomped on, the same substance staining it.

“That’s blood.” The young Hyuga stated.

“It almost looks like it rained.” Tenten let out as she approached one of the damaged trees for a closer look.

A familiar voice came from behind them. “A rain of blood.”

The genins immediately turned around to see Shino with his hands stuffed into his pockets, a very shy Hinata who stood behind her instructor Kurenai and finally Kiba, who seemed utterly disgusted as he pinched his nose while Akamaru remained unmoving on the boy’s head, clearly unconfortable as well.

“Rain of blood?” Tente repeated, not really sure how to interpret that. Rain was rain right?

Shino moved at the center of what he assumed was the point of origin of the attack. “There’s only one person who could make it rain, a rain of blood.” Shino answered, tilting his head towards the last Uchiha survivor.

“Gaara of the Desert.” Sasuke remembered the name and the capabilities of said shinobi from their last fight. It made sense. This kind of massacre wasn’t uncommon for those sand-nins, especially him. His fist tightened at the mixed soil in his hand.

“That freaky guy from the Chuunin exams…” Kiba let out as Akamaru crawled inside Kiba’s jacket to hide.

A new voice joined their group.“Guess we all ended up at the same place after all ne?” Asuma stepped out with his team trailing no less than 5 feet behind him.

Gai moved in closer to the other Jonin. “What brought you here?”

Before Asuma could even answered the question, Shikamaru walked ahead and glanced down at Sasuke’s hand. He looked back up to the damaged trees taking a deep breath before speaking again. “So, I’m guessing this is where things got worse.”

“G-Got w-worse?” Hinata mumbled weakly.

“Yeah. Shikamaru noticed some tracks and they led us here.” Chouji let out through his crunching, his mouth almost full of chips. Again.

“How can you be so sure it was Naruto?” Neji asked curiously. Tracks were something, but more tangible proof would be needed.

Ino chimmed in almost too cheefully. “Can you believe the idiot actually engraved his name on his kunai?” She pushed her hair behind her back.

“That would be dobe indeed.” Sasuke lowered his head and smiled a little.

The young Hyuga opted to glare at the blond kunoichi,

“Shikamaru. Can you tell us what happened?” Asuma asked, knowing fully well that with his student’s abilities, they should be able to get a much clearer picture of what happened.

“He clearly got chased from where we were all to this exact spot. Naruto was overpowered to at least 5 to 1 at this point. First he was put down here.” Shikamaru walked up to a tree, tossing aside a few broken branches to reveal three sets of footprints.

“How can you see all that?” Sakura was usually the know-it all girl, but seeing Shikamaru like was really unique. She remembered how back at the academy he was always sleeping through classes and well, being a lazy bum most of the time. She couldn’t help but be impressed at what she was seeing in front of her.

Asuma smirked as he looked over to Sakura.“For Shikamaru, this is like playing a game of Go, analyzing and strategizing is his forte.” Asuma shared with the rest of the group. He always enjoyed seeing Shikamaru in action.

Shikamaru continued, moving 5 meters ahead where the center of the area was devoid of blood. “They had him cornered, but then something happened.”

All eyes were now fixated on the young Nara, anxiously waiting for more details.

Shikamaru kneeled again to the ground to notice how there was much more sand behind where Naruto stood then anywhere else. He took an amount within his hands and showed it to the group.

“My guess is, Gaara came in time and killed them all. Don’t ask me why because I don’t know the reason why.” Shikamaru warned them. Last thing he wanted was to spit out several theories at them knowing too well most of them wouldn’t even follow his thought-process.

The brunette then kneeled down again when he examined the base of the tree. The blood was actually smeared downwards, indicating something made contact and gravity did the rest. Shikamaru stood up again

“Another attack came from this side, something strong enough to make Naruto move from there” He pointed to the first place he stopped, “ To here.” Pointing at the base of the tree next to him.

The tree had sustained several deep cuts after the rain of blood attack. Sasuke stepped forward, looking at where Naruto was at first and then back to where Shikamaru now stood.

“Temari must’ve used her great wind attack against Naruto. Knocked him out cold. By now he should have a rib or two broken.” Shikamaru shared as he remembered all too well the strength of her attacks when they were opponents.

Neji wondered, “How can you be sure it’s her?”

“I fought her during the Chuunin Exams. I know how hard those attacks can damage you. With all these markings on the trees, it was definitely her.” Shikamaru sighed, then again Neji was actually in the infirmary when he was battling it out with the bond kunoichi.

Shino walked pass both Shikamaru and Sasuke, a good 2 meters behind. His head inclined towards the ground, carefully examining the distinctive footprints left behind.

“Then we can assume Kankuro was with them.” Shino shared.

Shikamaru turned around to look as well. “Most likely. But certain footprints are deeper than the other. So that could only mean one thing.”

“They transported him back to their village.” Shino finished.

* * *

No one dared to moved after what just happened minutes ago. It’s not everyday you actually witness someone actually managing to stop Gaara from going on a rampage, much less with no bloodshed.

Naruto finally stood up, patting his butt to get the dirt off it. Kankuro now seeing that Gaara was under control, placed a hand on Naruto’s shoulder looking him straight in the eyes.

“Please leave Naruto.” Kankuro informed the blond. “We won’t stop you anymore.”

Naruto simply nodded, grabbing his backpack and fishnet top off the floor as he walked right by Gaara and Temari before stopping under the doorframe.

“Thank you. Gaara, you’re lucky to have a brother and a sister that care about you.” Even if he didn’t know their history, they were still family and despite everything that happened, Naruto clearly saw that Gaara was cherished by the other two shinobis. “Anyways, try not to kill too many people ne?” Naruto finally walked out of the room, raising his right hand in the air, for one final goodbye.

By the time Gaara finally turned around, all that he could see was Naruto’s blond hair vanishing down the flight of stairs. Something inside of him stirred again. He didn’t know why, but right now, he didn’t want Naruto to leave.

To be continued

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Having soo many characters in play is way more difficult than I originally thought!
> 
> I hope you enjoyed the chapter and I look forward to hearing what you thought about it. 
> 
> Comments, reviews are always welcome and much appreciated =D
> 
> Ookima


	8. Chapter Eight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can thank my insomnia this week for getting this out earlier than expected! I did wait for a more restful mind to read again but I hope you enjoy it.
> 
> Thank you again for all your comments and encouragements. They warm my heart everytime! ^_^
> 
> Please note that I have no "beta-reader" so I might have mistakes here and there.

The subtle click of the entrance door heard minutes later only confirmed that the former Leaf shinobi had finally left the house. Both Temari and Kankuro sighed in relief. They definitely didn’t want to relive a situation like this ever again.

“We should of left him in the forest the first time we saw him…” He murmured to his sister as he walked straight pass by her to leave the room.

Temari sighed again. She knew Kankuro was right, but arguing with their little brother was a definate no-no if they wanted to come back in one piece. She glanced over to the redhead, “You should get some rest…”

The siblings left the room, gently closing the door behind them.

Gaara walked over to the window, his eyes scanning the street below in the hopes of getting one last glimpse of the blond boy. He paused when he noticed a tuff of blond hair thoughout the crowd.

* * *

The genins, along with the only Chunin and Jonins awaited for Kurenai’s new team assignment.

“The new team who will continue to track and enter the Hidden Sand Village will be Shikamaru, Sasuke, Neji and Kiba.” Kurenai announced their names, earning her immediately their attention.

“Eh? No Jonins with us?” Shikamaru asked, slightly surprised considering the situation.

“You’re a Chuunin now Shikamaru, besides you have the strongest Genins in Konoha with you.” Asuma reminded his student.

“Why are you sending only the strongest?” Sakura asked, puzzled by the way they were being regrouped.

“Konoha can’t spare too many Jonins due to outside threats.” Kurenai carefully answered. Although they weren’t in any immediate danger, Konoha was still left weak after the death of the Third Hokage.

“In other words, if someone was to attack, this would be a great opportunity for them.” Asuma added as he gave a quick wink at the female Jonin.

“Then who will go find Jiraiya-sama and Kakashi-sensei?” Tenten asked as she continued to swirl her kunai in her hand.

“Gai will stay with Tenten, Hinata, Sakura and Shino and inform Kakashi and Jiraiya of the current situation. You should be able to intercept them. Since we will be out of radio range, Shino will continue to keep track of us with his beatles if needed.” Kurenai finished as she glanced over to Asuma.

Asuma spoke up. “Choiji and Ino will be going back with me and Kurenai to debrief the Hokage on the situation.”

“Why are we the only two not to go!?” Ino yelled out, clearly disappointed. It didn’t help that she also didn’t get to team up with Sasuke for a longer peiod of time.

“Ino, stop arguing and just listen to what Kurenai-sensei ordered.” Chouji spoke out for the first time. Either way he didn’t mind. It simply left him more time to eat and he really didn’t feel like going to the Sand Village anyway.

“Ino, you are skilled genins but this is an A ranked mission. Those four alone have proven the skills to become Chunins. We don’t know either what they might encounter and us Jonin believe that those four together will work together the best to retrieve your comrade. Until backup arrives.” Asuma explained with a calm voice. In the end, it was a gamble they had to take since now the Sand was now involved.

“So why aren’t you sending us after Kakashi-sensei and Jiraiya?” Ino angrily asked as she glared over to her rival.

“Sakura’s part of team 7, Hinata can locate their position with her Byakugan, in case of combat, Tenten is very reliable as well as Gai. Once they have found them, Shino will be the one you’ll rely upon due to his female bugs placed on my team.” Shikamaru answered in simpler terms hoping his teammate would understand better.

Their new orders were crystal clear. Gai’s as well as Asuma’s and Kurenai’s teams quickly backtracked their way, leaving only Shikamaru’s new team in the middle of the forest.

Kiba looked over to the Chunin. “What’s the plan?”

“We’re heading towards Hidden Sand Village. Kiba and Neji take point while me and Sasuke stay in the rear. Once we get near their gates, we’ll decide what is the next step.” Shikamaru explained

“Good enough for me.” Kiba let out as he prepared to advance, but his eyes focused back on the Hyuga boy who clearly was not ready to take action yet for some reason.

Shikamaru walked over to Neji, “What is it Neji?”

“Nobody cared to ask a simple but obvious question.”

“Meaning?” Sasuke cocked his head, unsure of where Neji was going with this.

“Why would Gaara save Naruto? After all, Naruto did beat him after the invasion started.” Neji shared. It just didn’t make any sense seeing as how the so called alliance between Sand and Konoha was very fragile since those events.

“Revenge?” Kiba offered. In his book, you get your ass kicked, you might want to kick it back if given the chance. Then again, that Gaara fellow was usually more the kind to just kill and care less about the talking part. He shuddered at the thought.

“Chances are when we get to Naruto, Gaara will be there too.” Sasuke let out.

Neji nodded in agreement.

“We’ll deal with the matter if it happens. Hopefully, Kakashi and Jiraiya will have joined us by then.” Shikamaru stated. There was no point in speculating what could or could not happen since they were still a few hours form the Sand Village anyway.

They headed towards Hidden Sand Village and hoped to find Naruto.

* * *

Kakashi and Jiraiya quickly moved through trees, sparing no time to fin Naruto. But something had the silver hair shinobi worried…

“Jiraiya-sama. Do you think it’s wise to disobey the Hokage?” The Jonin asked half-worried, half-impressed by the sanin.

“She knew damn well I wouldn’t listen anyway.” He scoffed at the thought of actually obeying blindly her order. “Besides, this is Naruto… I know the brat very well and he wouldn’t go all the way South.”

“We’ll find him soon.” Kakashi softly said, it was meant to reasure the other man but also himself.

“Damn right! I still have amazing jutsus to show him!” He smiled and deep down, he really hoped they would.

* * *

After just leaving Gaara’s house, Naruto made his way down the streets, trying to figure out a way out of this village now. He suddenly stopped, closing his eyes for a moment. He could feel the glares and whispering of the few people who walked the street. He opened his eyes again, instantly connecting with a pair of dead cold ones. Those same _damn eyes_. Clearly Sand had its fair share of problems just like Konoha when it came to demon hosts. Although these people weren’t aware of his own status, they clearly knew about Gaara…

“He just came out from that monster’s house….”

“And he’s still in one piece…”

“The boy must be cursed now because of that monster…”

“Poor soul…”

“He’d be better off dead….”

Naruto tried his best to not let those annoying comments get to him as he walked faster to the gates. He had to get out of there as soon as possible before he beat someone to death unintentionanly.

He shouted internally. _‘Damn them!’_

* * *

Gaara watched the scene from his window, partially intrigued of how the former Leaf shinobi would react. To his surprise, Naruto did nothing and walked away without a fuss. It was strange to see it this way. Had it been him, they would have been dead where they stood.

_‘He still suffers… Like I use to….’_ Gaara thought and for some reason, that didn’t sit well with him. Something stirred within him as he watched Naruto vanish without a trace.

* * *

_FLASHBACK_

_A younger version of Gaara stood in the living room, as he looked at a picture while Yashamaru cooked their diner. Gaara held a small knife, making several attempts to cut himself but the sand always created a barrier preventing him form doing any actual harm._

_When Yashamaru looked into the next room, he ran over quickly a she begged the smaller boy to stop. Once the knife wasn’t in his hand anymore, Gaara looked down to the floor confused and sad._

_A minute later, he looked up again, “Ne Yashamaru. What is pain?”_

_Yashamaru explained as best he could to the young boy, one look into those green eyes and he could see the confusion in them._

_“I think I understand what pain is now”_

_“Is that so?”_

_“Does that mean I’m injured like everyone else?”_

_Yashamaru cocked his head._

_“I always feel pain… Although it doesn’t bleed, this part hurts so much…” Gaara almost murmured as his right hand grabbed the fabric of his shirt where his heart stood._

_Yashamaru’s heart instantly sank when he heard those words. How could such a young boy always be in pain? He quickly brushed aside that thought and thought of a way to show the differences between physical wounds and emotional scars._

_“Physical and emotional scars are a bit different. Unlike physical ones, there’s no ointment available for emotional ones. And the pain might never go away.”_

_Gaara’s eyes were filled with sadness, lowering his head._

_“There is only one thing that can stop such a heartache. However, as inconvenient it may seem, this cure can only be given by people other than yourself…”_

_“What is it?” Gaara’s eyes filled with hope as he looked into Yashamaru’s._

_“It’s love!” Yashamaru answered with a warm smile._

_“Love? How can I receive that?” He really wanted to know. If he could find it then he wouldn’t be in pain anymore!_

_“Love is the care and devotion you feel for the precious ones around you.”_

* * *

It was rare for him to think much about the past, but somehow the situation with Naruto seemed to bring those memories back. Gaara touched the sign of love on his forehead, remembering the very night his father had ordered Yashamaru to kill him because he judged that he was a threat to everybody…

* * *

_FLASHBACK_

_“I know what it’s like to have a demon remember? Sometimes, they have an urge to protect their host. And sometimes they even want to protect what their host desires but isn’t aware of it yet” Naruto reminded the boy with a big smile._

* * *

Gaara’s eyes widened as he remembered Naruto word’s, as if he knew what he was talking about.

“Okaasan… Could what he said be true?” He asked himself.

As if on cue, he felt a slight shock on his forehead as if he had gotten an answer to his question. His eyes narrowed. He needed to see Naruto again. So he left his room with one objective in mind, to find Uzumaki Naruto one last time.

He walked down the stairs and headed for the front door where he was sure to cross his siblings paths.

“Gaara?” Temari spoke out when she noticed him passing through the hallway.

Gaara never turned around to meet their gaze as he simply opened the front door.

“Where are you going?” Kankuro asked as he stood up from the couch and his pupper gear.

He shot them a cold hard glare.“He still hasn’t answered all my questions.”

“But Gaara, he… ”

“Stay out of this. I need to understand. “Gaara continued, firmly closing the front door behind him.

The older siblings exchanged another worried look.

“Why is he so interested in that annoying brat!?” The pupper master snapped.

“Gaara’s been like this ever since he and Naruto almost fought to death in Leaf.” Temari reminded her brother

“Just what the hell happened between those two?” He asked himself. He always had trouble getting Gaara, but with that damn blond shinobi in the picture, things were that much harder now.

“I don’t know, but that fact that Naruto was able to calm down Shukaku. Even our teacher had never been able to stop it.” She was half scared just thinking about it.

Kankuro knew his sister was right. Never in their life had anyone been able to match much less reverse Gaara’s state of mind when he would talk to _‘it’_. Hopefully their little brother would find his answers quickly, because having a Leaf missing-nin was going to make things really complicated if their father got wind of this.

* * *

Qucikly moving in the shadows, Naruto had finally taken refuge in a tall tree near the main gate, or at least that’s what he assumed. His eyes narrowed in on the two sand-nin guards. For now he opted to wait just a little to figure out their habits before jumping the gate without being seen. The last thing he needed was being recaptured.

_Now._

With both sand-nins backs turned, he concentrated the chakra needed to his feet for that extra kick and easily went over the wall. He gracefully landed on the other side of it, backpack now securily strapped on his back, he took one last look behind him.

“This kinda bites, I still don’t have anywhere to go back to…” Naruto let out, discouraged by his current situation. He really hadn’t thought that far yet.

A male voice spoke. “If you have no where else to go then stay here.”

Startled by the voice, he clumsily turned around. Which resulted in him tripping on his own two feet and fall face first into the ground. He quickly jumped back a few feet from what he assumed was the person’s position when his eyes recognized the shinobi.

“Gaara?”

As usual, the redhead was calm, his back leaning against the wall, his arms crossed just above his stomach. Green annoyed eyes stared back at him.

“Why are you here?” Naruto asked. Kankuro had made it clear that he was not welcome and when he left the hosue, Gaara seemed kind of out of it…

“Loneliness.” Gaara replied.

“Eh?”

“Do you wish to be alone again?” He rephrased.

“It’s not like I chose to live alone, it’s because of Kyubi that I’m force to be alone. And honestly I hate it but no one wants a demon and never will…” Naruto stammered as he looked down to evade Gaara’s eyes.

“You’re wrong.” The redhead uncrossed his arms as he walked closer to the blond.

“Wrong? Konoha didn’t give a damn about me just as much as people in it! So who the hell would want to ever be with me!?” Naruto snapped back, unknowingly fighting back tears that threatenent to come out.

“Me.” Gaara calmly answered as he stood less than an inch away from Naruto’s face.

Naruto blinked a few times.

“I wish to be with you.”

“Eh? Now why would go saying something stupid like that?” He couldn’t help himself, no one who knew he was a demon host would willingly want to be with him…right?

“In that fight, despite the fact that you feared me, you still fought against me, for the sake of your friends. The words you spoke to me when our battle ended, they disturbed me at first since I did not understand their meaning, until now.”

“I don’t get it…” Naruto was now very confused. How could his words of that day have this much impact on the redhead?

“I’ll explain when the time comes. Answer this before you leave Uzumaki. Once you leave my village, what are you going to do with your life?” Gaara asked.

Being asked that specific question actually angered him. It angered him because he really didn’t have an answer or backup plan. How pethatic is that? He felt his vision becoming blurry so he turned around so that Gaara could only stare at his back. At least this way, the sand-nin couldn’t see the tears that fell on his cheeks.

“Answer me.”

“I-I don’t know… I’m so useless!” He sobbed. “Maybe when I escaped I was hoping someone would end my life so the pain of being alone and hated all the time would finally go away.”

Naruto’s eyes widened when he felt arms wrapping around his body, pulling his body a few steps back against something warmth and yet so soft. He could feel small wind right next to his ear.

He couldn’t help but whisper his name. “Gaara…”

The redhead protectivily held onto the blond.

“We are the same. Hated and feared by the people we serve and protect. To them we are nothing more than monsters and tools that they can use. We both found our own way to cope with their threats.” He whispered.

Naruto couldn’t help but close his eyes. He felt so _safe_ right now. _‘But what should I do now? I can’t go back to Konoha……… Not after what happened there…’_

“Do you truly desire to go out there, to be alone and shunned by the people again?”

“No, but… I can never go back to Konoha. I’m so tired of being alone and hated by everyone. “ Naruto mumbled as his tears freely fell. His hands held on tightly onto Gaara’s arms.

“Then stay here.”

Naruto’s eyes snapped open. “What..?” He tilted his head to the side, to get a better look at Gaara’s face.

“I’m tired of being alone too.” Gaara let out, his eyes softening when he glimpsed into those sad baby blues.

“Gaara… I-I…” Naruto’s heart was beating a thousand miles per hour.

To be continued

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I must have rewritten this chapter 3-4 times. I was never satisfied with it for some reason but if I didn't stop myself this would never see the light of day haha. 
> 
> In a way, I do believe that Gaara needed a bit of time to properly process the new information as some of you pointed out. He's not one to quickly move (unless it's to kill of course!). Naruto's just numb at this point. When I think about it, it's kinda hard to know when you are wanted somewhere when all your life you've been tossed aside and told you were useless. 
> 
> Done with my rambling. Thank you again for reading, commenting, sharing your point of view and kudos! ^_^
> 
> Ookima


	9. Chapter Nine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter, sorry! But I am pushing to post the next chapter before the last day of 2020!
> 
> Thank you again for all your comments and encouragements. They warm my heart everytime! ^_^
> 
> Please note that I have no "beta-reader" so I might have mistakes here and there.

Gaara tightened his grip on the blond as he waited for his answer. He noticed his heart beating faster, another unfamiliar feeling brought again by being so near Naruto.

_‘I-I don’t know how to answer that…Something inside me tells me to stay, this feeling, I never experienced before.’_ Naruto thought, confused more than ever.

“Stay by my side.” The redhead softly whispered in the blond’s ear, closing his eyes.

Never in his entire life had anyone ever told him he was wanted. When he heard Gaara whispering in his ear, his heart pounded so loudly in his chest that he thought it would break out. He took a deep breath, his hands slowly pulling Gaara’s arms down so he could turn around and face the redhead. 

“I’ll stay.” Naruto answered with a smile.

* * *

Shikamaru’s team finally arrived within 2 miles from the Hidden Sand Village. It was the perfect time to stop and think of the next best course of action to take. Despite the obvious lack of trees, they could easily take refuge inside the desert caves.

“We have to go in there.” Kiba let out with distaste. Both himself and Akamaru could already smell the _fear_ emanating from that specific village. 

“Yes, but it’s best to wait for Kakashi and Jiraiya first.” Shikamaru said. He knew that despite having head start on the pair, they could easily do it in half the time if needed.

“The more we wait the less chances we have to find him.” Sasuke stated, his hands resting in his pants pockets. They had gained a lot of ground in such a small amount of time, waiting meant loosing that again.

“He’s right.” Neji agreed.

Time was definitely on their side.

“Two of us enter the Sand Village while the other two remain behind to wait for Kakashi and Jiraiya to show up.” Sasuke offered a compromise. They had come this far, sitting here and waiting was just pointless. They still needed to locate the idiot. _Fast_.

Kiba asked, “Is that wise?”

“Do we have any choice?” Neji shot back at Kiba.

Those two definitely didn’t rub each other in a good way. Neji was always the calm shinobi and Kiba could be as loud and annoying as Naruto.

“Kiba and Akamaru will stay behind with me. Sasuke, you and Neji go in. We’ll wait for Kakashi and Jiraiya.” Shikamaru laid out the next phase.

“What about the bugs Shino placed?” Kiba asked.

“No worries, Shino placed a female bug on each of us in case we had got separated.” Shikamaru reminded him.

“Then why do I have to stay behind?” Kiba was annoyed being left on the sidelines like that.

“Akamaru can track them - ” He pointed at Sasuke and Neji. “ - once the other two arrive. Neji’s Byakugan can help them to locate Naruto as well. This is the best solution for now.” The Chunin finished. Truth was, having Kiba work with either genius was bound to be less effective. He had noticed how the two loners seems to have a silent understanding since they started on this mission.

“Hn.” Sasuke walked next to Neji, nodding he was ready to leave now.

“Although we are technically still allies, stay in the shadows.” The Nara reminded both boys. After the fiasco of the Chunin exams, their relationship with Sand was still shaky at best. The longer they could operate in the shadows the better.

Both nodded and immediately set out to infiltrate Sand village, leaving a half pissed offed Kiba behind.

“They better get their asses here quickly!” Kiba snapped as he showed his fist towards where they originally came from.

He glanced over to Kiba _. ‘Hope he doesn’t get too troublesome.’_

* * *

Gai’s team leaped from tree to tree when suddenly Jonin halted as he motioned them to lay low. Tenten landed next to her sensei, while Sakura and Hinata remained closely together on the tree 5 meters behind the Jonin. Shino was furthest out, guarding the rear.

Tenten looked up to her teacher. “Sensei?”

“Two shinobis are heading straight for us.” Gai replied, his eyes focused on what was heading their way.

“Is it Kakashi-sensei?” Sakura asked. She really hoped it was, the last thing they need was a confrontation with an enemy of the Leaf.

Gai’s lips formed a smile and then vanished from everyone’s sight.

“W-What..?” Sakura stepped back in a defensive position, quickly grabbing a kunai just in case.

CRACK!

A loud sound followed by what could be described as debris was heard. The genins lost no time in pinpointing the exact place to investigate. When they arrived, Gai stood with his foot stuck in the trunk of a tree, with the copy-ninja standing less than meter away from what appeared to be the initial attack.

“Kakashi-sensei?” Sakura let out, relieved it was him and not an enemy after all.

“Yo!”

“Don’t ignore me Kakashi!” Gai yelled out as he managed to unlodge his foot from the tree.

“Sensei always acts like this when his eternal rival is near.” Tenten specified to reassure Hinata, noticing the girl was slightly trembling at the situation.

“Why are you brats here anyway?” Jiraiya asked as he came out from behind another tree close by.

“Kurenai-sensei separated our teams because we found a trail that indicates Naruto is in Hidden Sand Village.” Shino answered in his usual monotone voice.

The Sennin cocked his head, “Why would he go there?”

“He was forced to… And things got worse.” Sakura mumbled as she nervously fidgeted with her fingers.

“How bad?” Jiraiya asked the group with a serious tone. Naruto was his only student, this definitely didn’t bode well if he was in Hidden Sand considering what happened weeks ago with them.

“Gaara of the Sand.” Shino answered, hands stuffed in his pockets once again.

Both Kakashi and Jiraiya exchanged worried before turning their attention to the other Jonin. If that particular shinobi was involved now, things were going from bad to worse.

“We’ll explain on our way to the borders.” Gai informed them, now sporting his serious look. “Shino, please lead the way.” Classic two fingers in the air, pointing ahead.

Shino raised one eyebrow. _‘Strange.’_ He raised his hand in front of him as beetles gathered he softly whispered to them. After a few seconds, the hundreds of beetles that covered his hands swiftly moved ahead, guiding them. 

Everyone followed suit.

Jiraiya looked over to Kakachi cautiously, “Isn’t Gaara another demon?”.

“Hai, he has Shukaku inside of him, but has no control over it. It was by far a miracle Naruto was able to defeat such a powerful creature.” Kakashi whispered carefully to the sennin, making sure only Gai heard and not the younger generation.

“Let us hope we’re not too late…” Gai let out as they headed towards Sand borders

* * *

Naruto’s arms wrapped around the sand-nin’s waist as the blond buried his face in the soft white fabric of Gaara’s right shoulder.

“As long as you want me here, I’ll stay.” Naruto replied as he cried freely.

“Then you might stay here for a long time.” Gaara whispered as he wrapped his arms once more around the other boy.

“I don’t care… As long as I’m not alone anymore… I don’t care.” Naruto let out through his muffled cries, closing his eyes as darkness welcomed him.

Suddenly, Naruto’s body relaxed into the embrace as he fell to his knees. Fortunately, Gaara tightened his grip on the blond to prevent him from falling further, as something unexpected also interfere…

Gaara’s eyes widened at the sight.“W-What?” The sand from his gourd had come out and completely surrounding them, _protecting them_.

He loosened his grip on the blond, resulting on the unconscious boy to fall towards the ground but the sand actually gathered beneath Naruto. The sand smoothly laid Naruto on the ground as the redhead couldn’t help but be mesmerized by what had just happened. This was the second time his sand acted to protect anyone except himself and both times it was because of Naruto.

He kneeled on the ground, carefully brushing Naruto’s strands of hair out of his forehead. “Yashimaru, Okaasan. I may have found that someone who I can give this love, and perhaps, also give me this love…” Gaara whispered.

Gaara raised his hands in the air as the sand lifted the unconscious form of Naruto off the ground and gently back in the sand-nin’s arms. The boy’s head rested against Gaara’s chest, as his arms were crossed above his stomach, but what caught the the sand-nin’s attention mostly, was seeing how Naruto was _smiling_.

“I finally found someone who’s likes me and understands me at last…” Naruto mumbled in his deep sleep.

The sand retreated back in the gourd as Gaara held closely, and protectively, the young boy in his arms. This feeling that Gaara didn’t understand or comprehend, made him do something that hadn’t happened in a long time.

Gaara smiled.

To be continued

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Despite it being short, I hope you still enjoyed it. Bringing so many characters together ain't easy, and the next chapter will shake things up. 
> 
> Thank you again for your continuous support and comments!
> 
> Until next time!
> 
> Ookima


	10. Chapter Ten

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you again for all your comments and encouragements. They warm my heart every time! ^_^
> 
> Please note that I have no "beta-reader" so I might have mistakes here and there.

He could have taken the route of the roofs, but the chances of waking up the blond in the process were higher. Hanging on carefully to Naruto, Gaara opted to take the streets that were almost deserted with only a few houses with their windows or doors still open. Despite seeing no one, he could already hear the harsh whispers directed towards him and indirectly at Naruto too.

"That poor thing, he never had chance."

"Even if he's the Kazekage's son, he should have dealt with that monster years ago..."

"I hope that boy has a quick death..."

"Poor thing..."

Gaara continued to ignore them as he did since he last could remember. However, that didn't stop the sand within the gourd from swirling around, seeking to be released and do some carnage of its own.

Naruto mumbled so softly, "So warm..."His grip tightening on the redhead's chest.

Gaara held him possessively as he turned the corner and into an alley where those mindless idiots wouldn’t bother them anymore.  
  
  


* * *

  
Tsunade was restless in her chair. She had all this stupid paperwork to fill and all she wanted to do was get out there and drag the little brat back home herself. If there was ever a day she regretted accepting being the Fifth Hokage, it was definitely today.

"Hokage-sama."

Tsunade's head shot up as she stood up from behind her desk, both hands open face down on it.

"Have you found him?"

Asume, Kurenai moved closer to her, quickly followed by Ino and Chouji.

"We tracked him down to a location, but we need your help so we can extract him legally from there." Asuma answered

"Name it." Whatever it was, she was going to make it happen, damn the consequences if any.

"I know our alliance is still fragile with Hidden Sand Village, but we need you to give us temporary passes to enter it." Kurenai answered.

Tsunade raised an eyebrow, "Why would Naurto be in Sand Village?"

"He was brought back into their by at least one of their shinobi, Gaara of the Sand."

"And this Gaara has Naruto? You're sure?" Tsunade asked again.

"Yes. Although we don't know the reasons they took Naruto, Shikamaru was very clear about which sand-nins was present. Right now they are probably close to entering the Village itself. We also made sure to intercept Jiraiya-sama and Kakashi."

"We need those passports so we don't brake any rules following the recent agreement between Konoha and Sand Villages."

She only needed to look at Shizune and the woman was already preparing everything they needed to be as legal as possible.

Both genins had remained pretty much silent throughout the conversation, but Ino stepped forward, raising her hand timidly. "How are we going to find them?".

Tsunade smiled. "Kakashi thought of that possibility and left us with a little something.

"How?" Ino asked pessimistically.

Something small jumped on top of the desk, "You better be a good human and obey me." Pakun ordered in a lazy voice.

Ino's eyes twitched, "WHAT!?"

"Pakun, be nice or else Kakashi's going to know about this misbehaviour." She tapped the top of the dog's head with her index finger. "He already knows Kakashi's scent, so tracking him won't be a problem for him."

Pakun snickered at the comment. "First I had to track that Uchiha kid and now it's his teammate. I'm not just good to track his students. Actually he should put a leash on them..."

Ino glared at the dog-nin. How dare he talk about Sasuke-kun this way!? Before anything could be done, Shizune handed over to Tsunade the completed passports. Once she signed them, she slid them across the desk towards both Jonins.

"Here. Make sure they get these before entering the Sand Village." Tsunade informed them.

Chouji who had been silently eating away his chips looked up to his teacher. "Don't we need a reason to go in there?"

Tsunade sighed. He was right and the reason had to be legit, there was no way around it. "There's only one way the Kazekage would accept Leaf shinobi in his village..."

Asuma's eyes widened, realizing what that meant. "Are you saying that he's been..."

"As of now, the genin known as Uzumaki Naruto is officially a missing-nin. You are to bring him back." She ordered bitterly, her hand forming into a fist.

"We understand." Both Jonins replied.

Feeling the tension in the room, they quickly left her office, practically pushing out the two young genins. Tsunade sat back in her chair, both fists visible on the the desk. It took every ounce of patience to not just smash that damn desk out of her way after saying that. The last thing she wanted was declaring him a missing-nin.

A warm hand grasped her shoulder, gently squeezing it. "They'll find him." Shizune softly let out as she tried her best to comfort her friend.

"I know... but once they do, will he want to come back?" Sadness filled her voice as she closed her eyes and a tear fell down her cheek.  
  
  


* * *

Suddenly, Akamaru barked, jumping off Kiba’s head and ran out of the cave. Both boys quickly stood as they warily approached the entrence of the cave and Akamaru. They couldn’t see anything or hear anything, but clearly Akamaru was.

A familiar voice spoke out to them, “Where are Sasuke-kun and Neji-nisan?” Her Byakugan still activated.

“Shit you scared us!” He let out.  
  


Next to Hinata, stood Tenten and Sakura. Sakura couldn’t help but laugh a little at how that boy somehow resembled Naruto sometimes. Tenten let out a giggle, amused at how the dog-nin reacted. Shino walked by Kiba as he looked through those glasses to his teammate’s eyes.

“A shinobi should be aware of his surroundings.” Shino commented, earning him an immediate death glare from his teammate.

“Shut up!” Kiba yelled, he clenched his fists wanting to punch his teammate.

Shikamaru relaxed seeing them here. “You’re lucky Neji and Sasuke aren’t here or they would of attacked you by now, mistaking you for the enemy.” Shikamaru commented as he spotted both Jonins and Sennin.

“That would be Sasuke alright.” Kakashi smiled beneath his mask.

“Speaking of the geniuses, where are Neji and Sasuke?” Gai asked, his eyes scanning the nearby area.

“We separated to cover more ground quickly. Me and Kiba stayed behind to wait for you guys, while Neji and Sasuke entered the Sand Village to continue their search. So now that you’re here, we can rely on Shino’s companions to take us to them.” Shikamaru explained clearly to three adults.

“Those two can be in danger, without proper papers if they get caught…” Sakura said, worried if they were to get caught, especially in that village...

“No worries, Kurenai and Asuma will most likely have them when they catch up with us.” Kakashi explained to reassure his student.

“But Kakashi-sensei, how will they find us? They don’t have any way to track us down.” Sakura wondered. Shino’s beetles were only placed on them and Shino was now with them.

Jiraiya smiled, “Kakashi left that mutt behind in case this would happen. So they’ll definitely find us.”

“Pakun?” Sakura was surprised. She remembered meeting the dog-nin after the chaos of the Chunin Exams.

“Pakun’s the best to track shinobis down. So Asuma and Kurenai should join us very soon.” Kakashi reassured the young kunoichi.

“So what now?” Kiba asked as Akamaru jumped back on his master’s head.

“We wait until Kurenai and Asuma return.” Gai spoke out earning him the stare of every genin.

Kiba stared in shock at the Green Beast of Konoha. “We wait!?”

“If we go in Sand Village with our current numbers, we’re sure to attract attention and be discovered. The best plan for the moment is to wait to get our passports and then go in. We have to trust Sasuke and Neji won’t get caught.” Kakashi explained as he knew the genins weren’t too happy with the answer he’d given.

“Look, half of you can’t disguise your chakra well enough yet, it would be a risk we can’t afford to take for both our sakes as well as theirs. So quit whining and listen to your orders.” Jiraiya ordered them , his anger slowly building up inside him from what happened in the last 3 hours. It’s not like he wanted to stay and wait either, but without those damn papers, he might as well just summon Gamabunta and announce himself to the Kazekage and start another war.

“Hai …” The girls mumbled as they were a bit scared by the sudden outburst of the great Sennin. They all knew him by name, but seeing the man in person when he was serious was something else and somewhat scary.

So they waited.

* * *

Neji and Sasuke easily jumped over the wall, landing on the ground without making any sounds. The last Uchiha was about to head out in one direction when he noticed that Neji had activated his Byakugan. It took less than 2 minutes for those eyes to lock on to a specific area in the village.  
  


“What is it?” Sasuke asked, slightly annoyed by the Hyuga.“

Neji’s eyes softened, “Naruto …”

Sasuke’s eyes widened, now very much interested in what Neji was doing. “What about him?”

“I found him.” Neji replied calmly as he continued to stare at the same spot.

“How can you know it’s him? Everyone’s chakra is blue, you can’t distinguish them.” Sasuke reminded him.

Neji glanced over to Sasuke, a thin smile appeared on his lips. “You’re wrong Uchiha.”

Sasuke raised his eyebrow. He knew that chakra could only be blue unless a shinobi was cursed like he was by Orochimaru.

“When I fought Naruto in the Chunin Exams, I closed off all his opening chakra points. But to much my surprise he managed to gather an unknown chakra from within him, and this one had a different color.” Neji began, noticing he had the other boy’s complete attention.

“His other chakra’s… is red isn’t it?” He remembered vaguely during their fight with Haku.

“I take it that you’ve seen it before.”

“Hn.”

“Then now you understand how I’m confident that I found him.”

“Lead the way.”

Both prodigies made their way silently to what they highly assumed was Naruto’s location.

* * *

Gaara only needed to walk another 50 meters before they would finally reach his house. As he continued to walk into the lifeless alley, he felt uneasy when he passed a broken residence to his right. He stopped, his eyes carefully scanning the alley as he felt the sand stir from inside his gourd.

“Two shinobis are coming this way… Father should of learned by now that it’s useless to send assassins after me…” Gaara growled, almost annoyed at these continuous attempts on his life.

He glanced down to the bundle of warmth still in his arms, knowing that indirectly he would be in danger since Sand assassins were ruthless and couldn’t care less for any collateral damage. As long as Gaara’s life would end, it would be noted as justified. The redhead kneeled on the ground, gently placing the blond in a partially sitting position, his back against the wall while his arms were crossed on top of the box, his head laying down sideways on his arms.

“I’ll protect you no matter what.” Gaara whispered as he cupped the blond’s cheek, one finger barely tracing the three whisker-like mars on it.

Gaara turned his attention back to the alley, uncorcking his gourd as sand gathered at his feet, waiting. He raised his right hand, gathering a small amount of sand into a ball in it and waited for the impending attack.

Minutes later, more than a dozen shurikens came from above as they quickly embedded themselves into the sand barrier that now covered more than half of Gaara’s body.

Two young boys silently landed on the ground, stading a good 10 feet from where Gaara. One of the shinobis spoke, “You have something that belongs to us…” Red eyes glaring into green ones.

The other shinobi continued, “And we’d appreciate it if you gave him back to us …” Silver eyes stared at him then focused on Naruto’s unconscious form on the ground, 2 meters on the sand-nin’s right side.

“Uchiha Sasuke and Hyuga Neji.” Gaara recognized them immediately. His sand shield slowly returned at his feet, waiting for the next attack.

“Hand us Uzumaki Naruto right now and we will leave the Sand Village.” Neji informed the redhead, but he didn’t seem peticularly inclined to just hand him over.

“Naruto will remain here.” Gaara spoke seriously.

Sasuke and Neji exchanged worried looks. This was definitely one of two worst scenarios. The last thing they wanted was actually fight that specific sand-nin knowing fully well the damages he had caused to Konoha last time. Their real problem at the moment was they had to be careful since Naruto was no less than 2 meters away from their opponent.

"Why would Konoha want Naruto back? You all ignored him since he was born." Gaara reproached them.

Sasuke clenched hi fists, annoyed and angry with himself. His continued arguments with his idiot of a teammate probably didn't help the current situation they were in either. Although they didn't know much of Naruto's past itself, they had witnessed on many occasions how the majority of the people in their village had a tendency to ignore or verbally assault the blond. Seeing as no one ever stopped the adults, the children soon did the same thing. In the end, they weren't any better...

A low voice mumbled from Gaara's side, "W-what..."

Naruto lifted his head, clumsily rubbing his eyes since his dried tears from earlier made it hard to see at the moment. He finally opened them to see Gaara close by with sand moving at his feet. He instantly noticed that two other shinobis were right in front of them as he stood up on his feet and reached into his side pocket for a kunai.

He froze when he recognized them both. "Sasuke..?".

To be continued.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who's happy to finally have a confrontation between Sasuke and Gaara?? ^-^
> 
> Thank you again for your continuous support and comments!
> 
> Until next time!
> 
> Ookima


	11. Chapter Eleven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year to all of you (OK I'm a bit late sorry!) 
> 
> Thank you again for all your lovely comments! It really motivated the heck out of me. My 2021 goal is to post a new chapter every 2 weeks, so let's cross our fingers I succeed. ^_^
> 
> Please note that I have no "beta-reader" so I might have mistakes here and there.

When he fell asleep in Gaara’s arms, he felt _safe_. He half expected to wake up back at what he assumed was the sand-nin’s house. The last thing he expected was waking up in an alley and staring into a pair of Sharingan eyes.

“Dobe, get your ass over here.” Sasuke demanded his former rival, pointing to his own feet.

Naruto’s hand tightened around the hilt of the kunai he had previously grabbed. “No.” He practicly growled out his answer. He expected Konoha to send someone after him, he just never thought it would be Sasuke and Neji given their current ranks.

Neji took a step forward, lifting his arm up os his upper chest, its palm facing the blond so that he would stay calm given the situation. “Naruto, the fact you left the Village without authorization was illegal. But Hokage-sama hasn’t placed you yet on the missing-nin list. She wants you to come back, we all want you to come back.”

“The only person that would care is Iruka-sensei. Everyone else could care less of what truly happens to me, especially the adults.” Naruto spat out angrily.

“Surely Kakashi-sensei cares - ” Neji began, trying to reason with him as best he could.

The blond chuckled at the name. “Kakashi-sensei? Don’t make me laugh, that guy only cares about the sole survivor of the great Uchiha clan.” Naruto quickly corrected the other boy. The Chunin exams was actually the perfect exemple that came to mind. Just thinking about it again, angered him even more.

Gaara kept a watchful eye on the blond, noticing the slight tremble in his visible closed fist. He could only assume that the other one hidden in his pouch was holding a weapon.

_‘This isn’t good…’_ The redhead thought.

* * *

As they waited for Kurenai and Asuma to join them, Jiraiya took this opportunity to explain the plan he had come up with once they were in Hidden Sand Village.

“Since we will be in Sand Village, we’ll be able to communication through our wireless radios. Once there, I’ll meet with the Kazekage for the formal crap then we can separate in your original teams to search for Naruto.” The Sennin clearly explained, positionning his own radio gear after his ear.   
  


They all took the necessary gear and activated their radios.

“Do you think they found him by now?” Kiba asked as Akamaru now rested on his head.

“Best scenario is he’ll be alone and easy to corner.” Shikamaru shared.

“A-And what’s the w-worse?” Hinata barely spoke up, but felt it was necessary.

He looked at her, “That Naruto is with Gaara.”

* * *

Their spat only increased between the former rivals when Naruto stood up on his feet. He’d finally let go of the weapon in his back pouch, letting his arms rest to his sides. Tensions were rising and neither Neji or Gaara moved from their position, observing and waiting for the moment to act. It was obvious that the first one to act would set the tone for what would happen next.

Sasuke took a step forward, “Dobe, just come back with us before you make things worse.” He never understood why it bothered Naruto that Kakashi took time to train him considering he possessed the Sharingan unlike his blond teammate.

“Worse?” Naruto almost wanted to laugh at the choice of word. “Staying in a village that only wants me dead since the day I was born because of what I am is worse than being on the missing-nin list and hunted down.” Naruto let out, his control waning with each step he took towards the Uchiha.

The Uchiha blinked. “What you are talking about?” He was used to the idiot not always making sense but this was a really out there. ”You’re not making any sense. I know that some villagers ignore you but - ” Sasuke started until he felt his upper body pushed back. He quickly steadied his feet, narrowing his eyes at the blond. He hadn’t expected Naruto to shove him this hard.

“Don’t you get it you bastard!?” Naruto snapped at him, “I would rather have your past then mine. So if the Hokage puts me on the missing-nin list and sends Anbu after me… See if I care anymore!” He didn’t want to hear what his former rival had to say. Naruto retreated back to Gaara’s side, his eyes never once leaving the position of both Leaf shinobis just in case they tried something.

Anger rose in him. “My past? Dobe do you even know what it was like to have my older brother kill off the entire clan and leave me, to be the sole survivor of it?” Sasuke spat out, his own fists now trembling.

“At least you had people that actually cared about you before he took that away …” A flash of sorrow passed through his blues eyes as he continued to stare down into red ones. “I never even knew one bit of my family. I don’t even know if Uzumaki stands for anything. I just remember that my caretaker changed every damn week until I turned 6, then they simply stopped coming altogether, leaving me alone.” Naruto’s voice weakened as he remembered some of the hurtful events of his childhood. He didn’t know what was worse; being thrown rock or being chased around only to end up bloody and bruised from a beating.

Both Leaf genins’s shoulders tensed, surprised by the information. They knew he was an orphan but always asumed he at least had an adult around, hell a caretaker. In a way, all three of them ended up raised alone. While Sasuke lived a few years with his family and Neji had his father for a short time, Naruto on the other hand, never had anyone from the get go.

“I guess this was my fate all along. You were right Neji, and I was wrong.” Naruto regained some control over his emotions. He didn’t want to break down again, especially with those two in front of him.

“What happened to the Naruto I faced during the Chunin Exam?” Neji frowned, this was not the same Naruto he faced weeks ago.

“He stopped fighting against his fate and finally gave into the hate and the darkness.” Naruto answered as he locked eyes with Neji.

* * *

Akamaru barked low, clearly indicating that that there was movement near them.

“It’s that dog …” Sakura mumbled as Hinata and Tenten turned towards the girl to understand better what she meant.

The small dog landed on his paws, less than a few feet in front of them.

“So the mutt finally came back.” Jiraiya said, looking down at the pup and was met with glare.

“Call me like that again and I assure that you will never write again.” Pakun threatened the older man as he sat down and scratched the back of his head with his back paw.

Soon after, Kurenai, Asuma, Ino and Chouji arrived, breathing hard. They had pushed themselves knowing how time was important, but they were happy to finally be there and were by both Jiraiya and Kakashi.

“Do you have them?” Kakashi asked.

Kurenai handed Kakashi the passports, in turn he passed them along to the rest of their group. With these in hand now they had legal standing to enter Sand Village without causing another war.

“Tsunade made one for you as well Jiraiya. Something about you always loosing them in perticular places…” Kurenai informed him, discouraged at how this man could be a Sennin yet loose such an important document during his so called journeys.

The Sennin coughed, gratefully accepting his new passport.

“Where’s that Hyuga guy and Sasuke-kun?” Ino asked, her eyes looking everywhere for that trademark Uchiha symbol but found none.

“Ino, they’re currently in the Sand Village.” Sakura’s voice sounded worried.

* * *

“I’m not going back. Now or ever.” Naruto said in all seriousness.

“Then you leave us with no other choice.” Neji said sternly, walking straight at the blond. Whatever move they planned, an altercation was going to take place. The Hyuga grabbed Naruto’s wrists to drag him out of there. He quickly reversed Naruto’s arms behind the boy’s back, making sure he couldn’t do any hand signs.

Blue eyes widened, panicked at the pull of the Hyuga. “Let me go!” Pain shot up his from his elbow to his shoulder, unable to break free of that hold.

“One way or another you’re coming back.” Sasuke stated, noticing the sand slowly rising from the ground.

“Let. Him. Go.” Gaara ordered them, the sand swirled more and more around, just above the redhead’s body.

Sasuke stepped in between Neji and Gaara, readying himself for the inevitable fight.

“What now?” Neji asked, trying to keep a hold on the blond but he definitely wasn’t making it easy. Yes he had restrained his arms, but his legs and head were another story.

“Knock the idiot out, he’ll be less of a pain to transport.” Sasuke provided the solution.

“I won’t let you hurt Naruto anymore.” Gaara spoke louder than needed, making sure that Naruto heard his words.

When he heard Gaara’s words, Naruto’s body relaxed, no longer resisting Neji’s hold on him. Sasuke was more focused on what was In front of him than behind, trusting the Hyuga would have the situation under control, but when he heard a sharp gasp from behind him, he looked over his shoulder to the pair.

_‘I don’t want to go back … I don’t want to be alone and hated anymore … I just want to be with Gaara …’_ Naruto thoughts as his eyes closed tightly as red chakra began to swirl around the boy. Moments later, he opened them again, but something was different. They kept flickering from blue to crimson red.

_‘The tailed-beast is surfacing…’_ Gaara noticed. It made sense now that he knew what Naruto hosted.

Ever since the beginning of their encounter, Gaara had been silently accumulating a small sphere of sand no bigger than the size of a prune in his hand. Now that the Leaf had made their intentions more than clear, he sent it flying in their direction.

"Look out!" Sasuke warned his teammate, jumping back and evading the as he quickly got out of its path.

Neji spun around, temporarily releasing his hold on Naruto's arms as he positioned himself between the oncoming attack and Naruto. He put enough distance as he called forth his chakra to form his rotating shield, "Kaiten!". The small sphere sand crashed into the chakra barrier, disintegrating down towards the ground.

Naruto had one knee to the ground, his left hand grabbing his right shoulder painfully. Despite Neji releasing him, the pain from being forced into that submitting position still lingered. If things stayed this way, he knew what waited for him back at his former village, more pain, more loneliness. His chest tightened at the thought of now leaving the one boy who accepted him and even asked him to stay.

"No.No!"

A sudden burst of chakra exploded from behind the Leaf sinobis, instantly grabbing everyone's attention. A thin mist of red chakra began to gather at the blond's feet, his head remained low, preventing any of them from seeing his face.

Seeing that Gaara hadn't moved at all since the initial attack, Neji nodded towards Sasuke and the last Uchiha understood. When Neji walked back towards Naruto, Sasuke took a defensif stance between them and Gaara, carefully observing any more movements from the sand-nin.

Neji prudently leaned forward, about to shake the blond's shoulder when red eyes snapped up at him. White eyes blinked in surprise. The next thing he knew was a shooting pain in his hand as Naruto's teeth violently sank into it.

Instinctively, Neji gathered a small amount of chakra to his other hand, aiming to hit Naruto's chest area. Red eyes narrowed in on the hand, quickly crouching on the ground before jumping 5 meters behind to evade both the attack but also to be out of the Hyuga’s reach. He gracefully landed on his feet, one hand firmly still pressed on the ground as he growled at Neji.

The young Hyuga stumbled backwards, grabbing his bloody hand, his eyes widening seeing the blond half crouched like an animal, completely engulfed by the red chakra. The marks on his cheeks more visible, teeth and nails slightly longer and sharper. But those red eyes, they held such a darkness Neji had never seen before.

Feeling the increase of chakra behind him, Sasuke took a quick look behind, "What the hell?" His eyes widened at seeing those red eyes so clearly. The same eyes that taunted him when they first encountered Orochimaru in the Fores of Death.

When red eyes locked onto to Sharingan a low growl could be heard. Naruto barely lowered his body before lounging forward again, going straight for his former rival. But nothing happened. Growling in frustration, looking down at his feet. They were completely encased in sand, making its way up his legs.

Neji and Sasuke froze in place unlike Gaara who walked towards the now immobilized Naruto. Red eyes looked up where the sand-nin now stood, barely inches away from him and growled. A strong fist connected with his stomach with such force he almost vomited right there.

It was over in an instant.

Red eyes slowly faded back to blue ones, "Why..." The blond choked out, one hand clutched painfully his stomach while the other rested on the redhead's shoulder. Before he could even hear Gaara's answer, darkness claimed him.

Gaara quickly caught the blond's body, whispering. "Rest now. I'll take care you".

He carefully laid Naruto on ground. It wasn't his intention to hurt him, but his options were limited given their current situation.

"Naruto!" Both Sasuke and Neji yelled in unison when they noticed the sand barrier taking form around their friend's unconscious body.

A pair of green eyes looked at them. "Leave now or die."

This was their final warning.

To be continued…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter, we are adding people, so that's a freaken big challenge haha
> 
> Comments, reviews are always welcome and much appreciated =D
> 
> Ookima


	12. Chapter Twelve

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's my Birthday today so I decided to update Both A New Path and my new story Behind Blue Eyes as a treat to myself!
> 
> Thank you again for all the warm comments and continued support.
> 
> A special thanks to Dhampir (Dhampire) who checks up after me for the story. Do check out her Naruto fanfics as well, they are AWESOME!

Sasuke jumped back and skillfully landed beside the Hyuga, neither taking their eyes off Gaara or the sand sphere that currently surrounded their unconscious teammate.

“Any ideas?” Sasuke asked with a low voice. He moved his left foot back while his other one pointed to the front, slightly bending his knees in case he needed to spring into action fast.

“I’ve never fought against him, unlike you.” Neji added as his eyes looked through the sand barrier, confirming Naruto was still alive since he could see the flow in his chakra system was intact.

“I barely survived my first encounter … And if we move, he simply has to close his hands for the sand to instantly kill Naruto.” Sasuke let out when he noticed Gaara raising his hand in front of him, as though he was about to close it.

“Then what are we supposed to do?” Neji whispered urgently, well aware of the situation.

  
“Kakashi … Where the hell are you?” Sasuke cursed silently, locking his eyes with the blank expression on the sand-nin’s face.  
  


* * *

Back at the Sabaku family house, Temari sat comfortably on the bench of the living room window. The large window overlooked the front of their house, giving an excellent view of the street and all of its comings and goings. Kankuro sat at the other end of the living room, carefully wrapping his puppet Karusa, and any weapons he needed for their next mission or training sessions with their teacher, since it was still undecided at the moment.

Finishing the last touches, Kankuro looked over to his sister, knowing that whenever their little brother stepped out there, she would sit by the window and wait for him to return. Anyone might think it was stupid seeing as how Gaara’s sand always protected him from any harm, but she felt it was necessary to welcome him back home, no matter how bad his mood was.

“Any sign of him yet?” Kankuro asked as he walked over to his sister and looked out the window.

“No…” Temari was starting to get worried. Gaara was usually not outside of their home this long for a number of reasons.

Kankuro looked back at Temari, “Why would he go after that brat anyway?”

She blinked. “Only Gaara could answer you that … But …” Temari began, lowering her head just a little.

“But what?”

She took a deep breath before meeting her brother’s eyes, “Ever since he fought against that Uzumaki kid … It’s like he’s managed to reach Gaara in a way neither of us ever could.”

He sighed. “I hate to admit it. But I agree with you… Whatever that brat told him, made Gaara seem more _human_.” He placed a reassuring hand on his sister’s shoulder.

Normally they would never oppose their brother. Every day was like walking over eggshells. Gaara’s mood was almost always the same, his bloodlust remained quite visible. But when they came back from the Chunin exams, for the first time, he had apologized to them. Fighting with that Uzumaki Naruto changed something in the redhead. Could they really just let the other boy walk out of Gaara’s life?

“Maybe we should search for Gaara.” Temari proposed as she looked up to her brother.

He nodded in agreement, putting his puppet on his back as they stepped into the night.

* * *

They were definitely at a stalemate.

“Why did you bring him here?” Sasuke asked, never once shifting his gaze from those green eyes.

Gaara remained unphased by the question. “Why the sudden interest Uchiha? It’s not like you cared before.” From what Naruto had told him, Uchiha Sasuke didn’t give a damn about him, and he was part of the reason for the blond’S pain as well.

Sasuke’s jaw clenched tighter at the comment shot his way.

“Neji, would you be able to break through that sand barrier and get Naruto?” Sasuke asked, his voice low enough for only Neji to hear.

“The sand is composed of chakra, I should be able to break through it by inserting my own. But there is no guarantee.” Neji whispered back, focusing his eyes on the ball of sand.

“Do it.”

Neji’s eyebrow twitched, “Uchiha?”

“Right now, we don’t have any other choice.”

Neji nodded, placing his left foot in front of his right, he waited for Sasuke’s signal. The young Uchiha quickly reached into his holster, throwing several shurikens straight at Gaara’s body and charged forth right at the sand-nin.

_‘Useless.’_ Gaara thought, his sand raised in front of him effectively shielding him from that weak attack.

Sasuke stopped in place, quickly making the hand seals for his Chidori attack. Within seconds, his blue chakra appeared at his feet and then switched in his left hand. Wasting no time, he charged again and on cue, the sand barrier formed a thick wall in front of Gaara.

Taking advantage of the distraction, Neji rushed past Gaara and towards the sand form that held Naruto captive. Seeing the weak spot with his Byakugan, he noticed that it was the sand furthest away from Gaara’s physical body. He positioned himself to hit that specific spot with his attack.

“Hakke Shou Kaiten”

Neji spun around as he released chakra from his entire body, the sand that once shielded Naruto began to crack open. Within 10 seconds, he’d manage to partially break open the sand shield. He stopped his attacked, quickly grabbing hold of Naruto’s orange jacket and began pulling the blond out.

The sand quickly closed back the hole again, ensuring that Naruto remained within its protective barrier. Neji nearly fell from pulling his body weight back when he retreated his hand so it wouldn’t get stuck, or worse crushed by the sand. It just didn’t make any sense, that speed was faster than what he had analyzed earlier, unless… he looked over to Gaara. The redhead stood firmly in position, one hand raised in front of him to counter Sasuke’s attack, the other in his direction clearly controlling that sand. Green eyes glared at him until his attention was required in the front.

“Chidori!” Sasuke yelled out, slamming his chidori into the sand wall.

The Chidori partially broke through, just like at the exams, but this time Gaara was ready for it, he was already gathering more sand as a secondary barrier when strong violent winds suddenly pushed Sasuke’s body away from the sand-nin’s.

“GAARA!” A female voice yelled out from above him. Temari stood on the roof of the house, behind her little brother, her fan completely open revealing the 3 purple dots.

“If she’s here then…” Sasuke quickly looked around trying to find the other brother.

The puppeteer appeared on the roof closer to the Leaf genins, as Karusa stood right behind Neji. Karusa opened her mouth, needles shooting out of it and headed straight for the Hyuga and Uzumaki.

_‘A doll?’_ Neji thought, taking out his kunai to counter every needle with ease.

Sasuke and Neji regrouped, reevaluating their situation as they now opposed 3 sand-nins. Now they didn’t only have Gaara, but Temari in front of them while Kankuro and his puppet behind them. Things were definitely not getting any better.

Temari joined her brother on the ground level, gracefully landing next to him. “Gaara are you alright?”

“Take care of him.” Gaara replied, nodding to what looked like a pile of sand.

At first glance she couldn’t quite understand what he meant, but when the sand retreated to Gaara’s feet, it revealed the blond boy who seemed asleep. She walked closer, clearly placing herself in a defensive position just in case.

His focus went back to the boys in front of him. “You should have left.” Gaara raised his hand towards them. “Sabaku Kyuu.”

The sand left his feet, rushing like a single tidal wave towards the two genins. They both took a defensive step back, knowing they still had Kankuro and the puppet to deal with. Sasuke’s eyes quickly scanned for a way out but found none. Neji then changed his stance, slightly crouching closer to the ground, his hands carefully positioned to block the oncoming sand.   
  


Abruptly, a strong yet familiar male voice was heard, “Konoha Senpuu!”

The sand was suddenly dispersed in the air, while Temari and Kankuro eyes widened at how easily their brother’s attack was simply kicked aside like it was just a ball.

“You…” Gaara let out as his eye twitched a little. He wasn’t fond of the man during the exams, he still wasn’t to this date.

There stood Konoha’s majestic green beast. Proudly standing in front of the two genins and ready to defend them with all his might, if needed. Kankuro didn’t even need to think twice before quickly retreating to where his siblings stood. He landed next to Temari, Karusa still ready to engage in a fight.

Quickly after the graceful entrance of Gai, Kakashi and Jiraiya stood right behind Sasuke and Neji. The pair was soon followed by the genins accompanying them on this retrieval mission.

“You have no right to be here!” Temari spoke with authority.

“You see child. With these –“ Jiraiya clearly showed the passports in the air to the kunoichi. “ - we can, since we’re on a mission sanctioned by the Hokage herself.”

“So be kind enough to hand over the missing-nin known as Uzumaki Naruto. Please.” Kakashi asked them with yet a teasing tone.

“Missing-nin?” Neji and Sasuke let out at the same time, looking up at the silver haired Jonin.

Shikamaru tapped both their shoulders, “It was the only way the Hokage found for us to enter Sand Village peacefully.” He whispered low enough that only they could hear him.

Kakashi and Jiraiya were about to continue educating the Sand shinobi when familiar groans could be heard behind Temari and Kankuro.

“What happened?” Naruto muttered as he sat up, running his head.

Jiraiya took a step forward. Gaara mimicked his movement, taking a step forward as well. Kakashi and Gai prepared to advance as well, when their eyes looked up on the roof, knowing that they were no longer alone.

A rain of kunais descended from above, clearly separating the sand-nins and Naruto, from the Leaf shinobis. Gaara remained unphased by the tactic while the Leaf shinobis seemed more guarded by its sudden appearance.

From above, the leader spoke, “Why are there Leaf shinobis in our Village?” The tall male stepped forward, as six more Anbus appeared by his side carefully analysing the scene below them.

“Anbus.” Shikamaru stated.

Jiraiya stepped forward, “Our Hokage, Tsunade-sama, sent us to retrieve a missing-nin, known as Uzumaki Naruto, and he happens to be here. You will find the information in this scroll, signed by the Hokage herself.” Jiraiya stated as he reached into one of his pockets to reveal a sealed scroll.

“We will investigate this and ask that none of you make any attempts to escape while we confirm this.” The Anbu leader informed them, instantly vanishing from everyone’s sight, but then he reappeared in front of the Sennin. After carefully examining the scroll, he closed it. He signaled his team to join him on the ground.

“You speak the truth. We will not interfere with your mission.” The leader spoke out, as the rest of the Anbu circled around the remaining Leaf shinobis.

“We do apologize for not entering through the gate, and hope you understand we had no other choice.” Kakashi explained politely. He really hated politics…

The Anbu leader cocked his head sideways, “We understand.” He returned the scroll to Jiraiya. “Unfortunately, we must ask that you remain within our Village for the next few days.”

“May we ask why?” Gai politely asked.

“A sand storm is coming in. And your missing-nin doesn’t look like he can travel back to your Village any time soon.”He glanced at the blond missing-nin who had yet to standup since the altercation began in the first place. “Also, I’m sure our Kazekage will want to have a word with you, since we have Leaf shinobis here to straighten things out of the misunderstandings between our Villages.” The leader carefully picked his words as he then looked back to Gaara and the rest of the sand-nins.

“Misunderstanding my ass …” Kiba growled while the rest of the Leaf genins exchanged worried looks.

“Kiba.” Shino warned him with an elbow to the ribs.

While Jiraiya and Kakashi exchanged words regarding the current situation, on the siblings’ side, Naruto was finally awake and aware. The blond grabbed his stomach when he first attempted to stand up, barely remembering what happened in the last hour.

Temari kneeled in front of him, “You shouldn’t move…” She brushed his blond locks out of his eyes, trying to be reassuring to him.

“You?” Naruto surprisingly let out. He didn’t expect to see the blonde haired kunoichi in front of him.

“Don’t strain yourself.” Temari cautioned him again, this time placing her hand on his shoulder, lightly squeezing to be sure her point was heard.

He winced at the pressure. She was Gaara’s sister all right…

He then looked around and noticed things were quite different now. Gaara stood in front of him with Kankuro by his side and that weird puppet, but what caught his attention even more was no less than 10 meters away, more Leaf shinobis were there and Ero-Sennin was among them.

“What the hell are they doing here?” Naruto asked, his tone of voice slightly raised in anger.

Kankuro shot him a look, “Seems you’re a missing-nin now. And they are here to bring you back to Konoha.” Kankuro informed the blond, noticing immediately a flash of fear that was quickly replaced with anger in his blue eyes.

The Anbu leader stepped aside, clearly looking at both the Leaf shinobis and the 3 Sand sibling shinobis.

“Uzumaki Naruto.” The leader began as Naruto looked up to the masked Anbu.

Naruto’s head shot up when he heard his name said so coldly. “What do you want?”

“Until the sand storm passes, you will remain in the custody of your Village, with one of our own shinobis by your side at all times.” The leader informed the young missing-nin.

“Gaara.” Naruto said without hesitation, looking straight into the Anbu leader’s eyes.

The Anbu leader raised an eyebrow behind his mask. If anyone had a say, Gaara would be the last person to be picked as a prisoner’s watcher… especially considering people usually ended up dead when he was involved.

“If you’re going to treat me like a prisoner and hold me against my will with a sand-nin to stay with me at all times, then I want him to be Gaara and no one else.” Naruto spoke out deadly serious.

The leader shifted uncomfortably beneath his mask, “I’m afraid we cannot comply with your demand …”

Gaara stepped between him and Naruto. “You will comply.”

“G-Gaara-sama, the laws state that…” The Anbu explained but was rudely interrupted again by the sand-nin.

“I’ve made my decision. If you still object, take it up with my father.” Gaara coldly told him. Either way, that conversation was over whether he liked it or not.

The leader gulped. The last thing he wanted was to be killed by the monster’s village or the Kazekage himself later on. Either way he was going to be punished and his chances of survival were best with the Kazekage himself, despite the man’s reputation.

The Anbu leader sighed. “Until we have a word with Kazekage-sama, we will provide you with a place to sleep and eat, until the situation has been cleared.” He carefully informed the Leaf shinobis.

_‘Why would Naruto want Gaara near him? They almost killed each other last time …’_ Sasuke thought.

_‘You’re so troublesome Naruto … But despite how the situation looks, it seems there’s more going on than we know.’_ Shikamaru thought. Playing politics was one thing, but this very situation, something just wasn’t right.

_‘You’ll have a lot of explaining to do … Naruto.’_ Kakashi thought, placing back his headband over his Sharingan eye.

_‘You stupid brat …’_ Jiraiya sighed. He knew better than anyone the variety of emotions the blond had, but this was one side he had never seen before and it worried him.

The Anbu leader approached Gaara warily. “Gaara-sama. Since you insist on being the shinobi to watch over the missing-nin, the Leaf shinobis will remain at your house until their departure.”

Kiba’s eyes widened when his ears picked that up. _‘We’re staying at that freak’s house!?’_ Kiba wanted to scream out while Akamaru had already retreated back within his gray jacket.

The Anbu leader turned towards the Leaf once more, “We will inform you at the time and place you’ll meet Kazekage-sama.”

Jiraiya simply nodded.

“Temari-san, Kankuro-san, be kind enough to show them the way.” The leader spoke out, as the two of them stepped up to the leader.

“Yes.” They both answered, feeling the many pairs of eyes now on them.

Without further delay, all the Anbus vanished from the area to report to the Kazekage. Both siblings sighed. How did they end up in this situation again? They looked over to the Leaf and were met with different types of gazes, ranging from angry, uncomfortable, annoyed to even somber.

Seeing as how Naruto was still sitting on the ground behind the siblings, Kakashi and Jiraiya approached him but instead, were met with an icy stare from the blond.  
  


“Don’t you dare even come near me.” Naruto threatened them.

Sakura took a few steps towards them. “Baka, Kakashi-sensei and the rest of us are trying to help you - ” Sakura let out, wanting nothing more than to scold her teammate again for his continuous bad behavior.

“Help me? Kinda late for that.” Naruto snapped back as he tried to stand up once more but was actually having trouble maintaining his balance thanks to a splitting migraine from all this.

She stopped dead in her tracks, right next to Sasuke. He never snapped at her, more likely he would whine, but nothing ever like this. Naruto was annoying and loud, but he had never been this cold to her. She wanted to say something to him, but was held back by Sasuke who grabbed her wrist and his stare clearly informed her to stay put.

Most to everyone’s surprise, Gaara held his hand out for Naruto to grab. The blond lifted his eyes, his hatred quickly vanished into a grateful look. He took the redhead’s hand without hesitation and finally stood up.

“Thanks.” Naruto softly told Gaara with a small but honest smile. He didn’t even bother looking over to his former teammates and fellow schoolmates. So he turned his back to them. At this moment, it was pretty much all he could do given the situation.

“That isn’t the brat I know…” Jiraiya let out in a whisper, surprised by Naruto’s sudden outburst but also his coldness.

Gai placed a reassuring hand on the Sennin’s shoulder, “We have a few days to find out why Naruto is acting this way.”

If anybody could see beneath Kakashi’s mask, they would see a small smile as well. Gai was a lot of things, but always positive no matter the situation. And right now, they could use some of the positivity. The copy-ninja glanced behind to see multiple worried looks among the genins. They would definitely need to talk all together once they arrive at their temporary accommodations.

Temari closed her weapon and secured it on her back, Kankuro opted to keep his puppet next to him, just in case. Despite the direct orders, he would be a fool to think Leaf wouldn’t try anything while their backs were turned.

“We’ll show you the way.” Temari told the Leaf shinobis, walking in their direction.

The quickest route remained to backtrack towards the main street. She walked right through the middle of the genins, clearly feeling their unease at the situation. If their situation was reversed, they would probably react the same way.

“Let’s go!” Gai cheerfully said, quickly urging everybody to follow the two sand siblings.

Since standing up, Naruto hadn’t yet let go of Gaara’s helping hand. Green eyes continued to stare at him, his body movements, and it was getting annoying.

“What?” Naruto asked, his free hand lightly scratching his head.

“Do you wish to be home before they are?” Gaara asked.

“Would be nice if it happened.” Naruto mumbled, closing his eyes momentarily. He was just so exhausted right now.

“Then hold onto me.”

“Eh?” He looked at Gaara, confused.

Instead of explaining it, Gaara leaned forward, sliding one arm behind the blond’s back, before swooping him the other one under his knees. Naruto’s feet no longer touched the ground and he found himself bridal style in Gaara’s arms.

“I see.” Naruto blushed at the situation, yet it made him smile at the sand-nin.

In one quick movement, he leaped onto the roof, vanishing from everyone’s sight. Down below, a few of the Leaf genins looked into the now empty space where Naruto stood seconds ago, worried for him.

“Gaara’s bringing him home.” Kankuro reassured them.

“He always hated walking through those streets…” Temari commented softly, passing Shikamaru in the process.

Temari and Kankuro led the way as one by one the Leaf shinobi followed silently. With what had just transpired, it wasn’t time to ask questions, yet. Still they all had their own questions regarding Naruto’s situation and they would get answers during their stay here in Hidden Sand Village.

Jiraiya and Kakashi were last in line to follow, when the Sennin noticed Kakashi wasn’t following the flock.

“Aren’t you coming Kakashi?” Jiraiya asked.

“I’m sending Pakun back to Hokage-sama to inform her of the situation. He should be able to make it before the sandstorms starts.” Kakashi explained, biting his thumb and did the hand seals for this specific summoning before pressing his hand face down on the ground.

The dog-nin Pakun appeared at the feet of the copy-ninja and seemed rather displeased to see him again so soon.

“I’m not searching for someone again.” Pakun flatly stated.

“I only want you to head back to Konoha with this information.” Kakashi conveyed to the dog-nin, handing him a small scroll containing the overall update on their current situation and the delay of their return.

“Just that?” Pakun raised his eyebrow. It was almost too easy of a task, which made him suspicious.

“Just that” He closed his single eye, smiling beneath his mask. “Make sure Tsunade-sama also is aware we won’t be back there for a few days, but things are under control.”

“Very well, but if this ends up being one of your tricks, you’ll never find those books ever again.” Pakun cautioned the Jonin as he took the scroll in his mouth and quickly began his journey back to Konoha Village.

Jirayai forced a cough. “Kakashi, you forgot to tell him that he might encounter a sand storm.”

“If he hurries up, he is able to avoid it.”

Jiraiya couldn’t help but laugh.

* * *

It barely took them 2 minutes to reach Gaara’s house. The sand-nin made sure to place Naruto on edge of the bed so he could sit without worrying about losing his balance like he previously was back in the alley. Once he was sure Naruto was good, he retreated to the door, his back barely pressed against it because he still carried his gourd.

“Forgive me.” Gaara spoke in a low voice.

“For what?” Naruto looked at Gaara.

He looked straight at Naruto, “You were unstable. I punched you.” Gaara explained in only a few words, but Naruto actually understood this time. Strangely enough, the blond was getting use to the way Gaara expressed himself.

“It’s ok… You know something? They actually don’t know … Only the adults know that Kyubi’s inside of me, the rest don’t…” Naruto trailed off as a few droplets of water fell on the floor. Every time he thought about it. It saddened him even more.

Gaara heard the sound of something dripping onto the floor. Although Naruto’s face was covered by his locks of golden hair, it couldn’t hide the tears completely.

“This really sucks you know? That old hag puts me on the missing-nin list and I have to go back there… It’s going to be hell again. I don’t want to go back!” Naruto’s voice cracked at the thought of returning there, his vision slowly blurring.

“It isn’t good for you to get too emotional…” Gaara reminded the blond shinobi, who paid no attention to his words.

“It isn’t fair! Why stay somewhere when I know they only want to kill me and for me to leave but because of a stupid law, they have the right to keep me in such a place … I’d rather die now then to go back to how things were!” Naruto said angrily, his elbows rested on his knees, placing his head between his hands while his fingers pressed against his scalp painfully.

Gaara came closer to the blond, “Naruto …” He whispered softly, seeing how broken the boy was.

The blond lowered his hands to his sides, “I just want the pain to go away… I’m tired of feeling this pain in my heart and pretend everything’s ok when it’s not… I just don’t want to feel this pain anymore…” With one hand, Naruto clutched his chest.

Gaara gently grabbed the blond’s chin, lifting it up, forcing him to meet his gaze. Green eyes stared into blue ones.

“Shhh.” Gaara whispered as he placed two fingers on the boy’s lips.

“Gaara what are you doing…?” Naruto managed to let out between his quiet sobs.

“I will protect you… And make sure you never feel that pain again.” Gaara expressed with a low voice, his hands moving to rest on Naruto’s shoulders.

Gaara pinned him down against the bed, but much to his own surprise, the blond shinobi didn’t fight back. Gaara leaned forward, placing his own lips against those of Naruto’s. The blond’s eyes widened at the sudden intimate contact. Instinctively, his hands reached up to grab the redhead’s wrists tightly, but when it came time to tug against them, he just couldn’t do it.

_‘Somehow … This doesn’t feel wrong …’_ Naruto thought, finally loosening the grip around Gaara’s wrists.

Naruto slowly closed his eyes, his left hand letting go of Gaara’s wrist while his right hand moved up to grasp Gaara’s shoulder, almost pulling him down on the bed to him. The redhead closed his eyes as he felt no resistance and more acceptance from the blond beneath him. Unfamiliar with how to kiss, he simply pressed his lips harder and Naruto responded by kissing back.

_‘So warm and yet gentle …’_ Gaara thought, his right hand moving from Naruto’s shoulder to cupping the boy’s whiskered cheek.

_‘This feeling … I like it …’_ Naruto told himself, tightening his grip on the redhead’s shoulder.

Naruto didn’t know how long they actually stayed like that on the bed, lips sealed. But when Gaara pulled back, breaking their kiss, Naruto found himself dejected. Yet, he found himself bringing his right hand up to his face, his fingers grazing his bottom lip.

“Gaara just now, w-why did you - ” Naruto stuttered nervously. He knew he wanted to stay by the redhead's side, he just didn't quite expect this at first.

“Kiss you?” Gaara responded, his eyes never leaving the blond's.

Naruto nodded timidly.

  
“Because, I wanted to.”

To be continued.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Leaf shinobis are now stuck in the same house as Naruto and the sand-nins. You all know that's not going to be a "walk in the park" for sure! More angst to come and many interactions between the genins. 
> 
> Thank you again for your continued support, without you, this would not be as fun! ^_^
> 
> Ookima


	13. Chapter Thirteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you again for all the warm comments and continued support I hope you enjoy this next chapter!
> 
> A special thanks to my muse Dhampir (Dhampire) who checks up after me for the story.
> 
> _Disclaimer : I do not own Naruto, nor the characters from it._

Gaara walked towards the bedroom door, tilting his head to the right, his ear almost pressed against it. It took a minute, but he finally heard what he was waiting for; the long squeak followed by a soft click, signaling that the front door to the house was now opened.

“The Leaf Shinobis are here.” Gaara informed Naruto, turning his gaze back to him.

Naruto sat on the edge of the bed, pausing when he heard the redhead talk to him. “Oh…” He had actually forgotten about them for a few seconds.

He didn’t know why Naruto lowered his voice that way, but he could assume it was linked to the arrival of the Leaf. “They are only here temporarily.” Gaara reminded him.

“Here yes, but they’re bringing me back there…” He really didn’t want to think about it at all.

“That is yet to be determined.” Gaara spoke just loud enough for the blond to hear him.

Naruto turned his head, looking back into those green eyes. The redhead was always a hard one to read, but Gaara had never lied to him, if anything he was pretty much brutally honest. Not hours ago he had made the decision to stay by Gaara’s side, wanting to discover what that could lead to. But now being an official missing-nin, it complicated things even more. How could Gaara even think that the situation wasn’t already a done deal?

“Come.” The redhead spoke only that single word before heading out the bedroom door.

Naruto could only stare at it, wondering what Gaara knew that he obviously didn’t. He sighed, either way, it was best for him to stick by the sand-nin’s side, more so with the Leaf shinobis present.

“Wait for me!” He exclaimed, quickly ran down the flight of stairs to catch up with the redhead.

* * *

Temari and Kankuro were the first to enter their house, quickly scanning the living room on the left and kitchen area ont the right, for any traces of their brother and Naruto. Now that the coast was clear, the siblings stepped farther in the back of the kitchen area where the staircase at the back of both areas was.

Luckily for them, being the Kazekage’s children helped having such big accommodation. Their house was actually composed of three houses that were connected with corridors. They used to share the main house which was the center piece, with Yashamaru, but with his unfortunate death, it left all three siblings pretty much the only people who now used the place. They were actually surprised that the Kazekage accepted the Leaf in the Village, much more when they were assigned to their house.

The open space between the kitchen and living room area provided a large enough space to accommodate two dozens of people at one time in the same space. As the last Leaf shinobi stepped inside the house, they all carefully took in its environment. In the living room area, they were 4 smaller seating areas, fitted with a low table, warm thick blankets and 1 padded cushions on each side. For the more traditional seating, they were 2 couches set-up near the front side of the house, neatly set near the large window. It definitely lacked a woman’s touch decoration wise since it was basic white, dark beige and light taupe colors on the walls and wooden frames, but it was still functional.

Since it was an open space, no wall seperated the living room and kitchen area. The kitchen was very spacious, seeing as there was no table present, only 4 high chairs for the large 15-feet kitchen island, leaving more than enough space for any number of visitors to come inside without being elbow to elbow.

“Anbu should be here soon.” Kankuro informed them, carefully standing at the far end of the living room with his sister. He only hoped they would get here soon, not really appreciating strangers in their house.

The silence was anything but pleasant.

Almost naturally, the genins huddled together according to their team numbers, while Kurenai, Asuma and Gai stayed behind the group observing their charges. Kakashi and Jiraiya were the ones farther in the room near the sand siblings since the Sennin was the one in charge of this mission. The old man only hoped that staying for the night wouldn’t be too problematic considering they had been enemies not too long ago, but one look at the two young shinobis in front of him and he knew they were just as much uneasy with the entire situation as well. The sooner they left, the better.

The sound of light footsteps coming down the stairs behind the sand siblings got everyone’s attention to it. The appearance of black boots and black pants came into view as Gaara finally appeared, ignoring everyone present. Once he reached the floor, he made his way towards the kitchen located on his left. Quick steps soon followed as Naruto stumbled down the stairs, trying to catch up with the redhead. It wasn’t until his eyes landed on the Leaf shinobis that his entire body tensed, freezing in place.

* * *

"Naruto." A few genins said the blond’s name, their tones of voice varying from happy to see him well, some were confused and others sad. For the most part, he was considered their friend, and they still couldn’t wrap their heads that he had just _left_.

Sakura barely took two steps towards her teammate when a pale hand gripped her wrist, stopping her mid-movement. Immediately she stared down to her wrist before her eyes locked with onyx ones. Sasuke gave a slight nod to both sides, discouraging his teammate from approaching Naruto right now. Sakura couldn’t help but lightly blush at the skin-to-skin contact she shared with her crush, but she clearly understood the message from her teammate. No matter how they looked at it, right now they needed to let their sensei and Sennin deal with the blond.

The others stayed silent for now, simply observing and waiting instruction. They had spent the last hours tracking their friend down, knowing he was somewhat under house arrest; there would be time to clear this unfortunate matter then.

Kakashi walked towards his student, "Naruto, we need to talk about what – “

Naruto rolled his shoulders, trying to loosen tension he felt in his body. "No." The blond answered, looking straight into Kakashi’s eyes.

Kakashi flinched lightly, just enough for Jiraiya to notice but the younger generation to miss. It was but a single word, but it lacked the usual energy behind it that the Jonin was used to. It only showed him that this was not going to get better overnight. Still, he wanted to speak to his student, but found himself staring down into green eyes instead of blue ones.

Gaara stepped in front of Naruto, effectively shielding him from any more unwanted interactions from the Leaf shinobi. He had only stepped out of the comfort of his bedroom since they were expecting word from Kazekage concerning the entire situation. He didn’t think about the potential problem of having the Leaf present on the main floor and Naruto facing them. After all, he had limited interaction with people because they left him alone or got out of his way, but for Naruto it was quite different.

Jiraiya sighed. Clearly nothing positive was going to happen tonight. He stood next to the Jonin, placing a firm hand on Kakashi’s shoulder, before turning his attention to his only student.

"We're all tired after today's _situation_. We should all get some rest. This should give _EVERYONE_ time to think about what has happened on these last few days."

The moment Jiraiya locked eyes with Naruto; the blond shifted his gaze downwards to the floor, completely evading his former teacher's eyes. Suddenly, being out in the open with everyone staring at him, he just wanted to leave and be left alone. He reached in front of him, gently pushing Gaara’s gourd, enough for the redhead to feel it.

"I'm going to sleep." Naruto mumbled, refusing to look at any of them. He didn’t wait for Gaara to answer him or anyone else. He quickly turned around, running up the stairs as fast as possible, never looking back at any of them.

Gaara gave a light nod, before turning his attention to two specific genins in the living room. His eyes landed on the Hyuga and Uchiha, "Stay away from him." His voice held no emotions, but anyone having crossed him knew to take him seriously.

The room fell in a heavy silence, prompting many worried glances between the genins. Kankuro and Temari being used to it, simply scoffed it off, since in normal circumstances, their little brother would have killed at least one person by now. Luckily, the moment was interrupted when a hawk made its way straight to Kankuro. The puppet master lifted his arm for it to land, retrieving the message on its back.

"You'll meet with Kazekage tomorrow morning at 9 o'clock." Kankuro informed them.

“Wait, I thought an Anbu was supposed to come and tell us?” Ino let out, breaking the silence between the Leaf.

Gaara huffed, turning around, walking right back up those stairs to join Naruto in his bedroom. He had the information he wanted. There wasn’t any need for him to stay down there any longer anyway.

Kankuro lightly coughed, waiting for his brother to be completely gone from the staircase before answering the Leaf kunoichi. “You should be happy they sent word at all.” Hell, their father and every human in their Village did everything to not step into the demon’s house.

“What kind of –“ Ino began, her voice hitting a higher pitch.

Shikamaru stepped in to block her, he barely looked over his right shoulder at her, “Ino.” His voice was firm, commanding. The message was crystal clear here.

Ino almost froze hearing her name spoken in such a commanding tone, especially by her teammate. However, It had the desired effect. Ino didn’t say anything more, and the others understood that the situation called for silence on their part.

Seeing the situation is under controlled, Jiraiya turned his attention back to the puppet master. "Thanks kid." The Sennin nodded. He unfortunately knew the reputation of the Kazekage. Just the fact that they were able to see him on such short notice, was actually a positive thing. Tomorrow he would need to play his cards right. God he hated these types of meetings...

Temari glanced up the stairs, making sure her brother and Naruto were out of their way, knowing they needed to accompany the Leaf-nins to their guest rooms and the only way to do that was by going up to the first floor. She looked back at Kankuro, nodding to her.

"I'll show you your rooms for the next 3 days." She politely informed them before walking up the stairs first, her brother trailing not too far behind her.

* * *

Stepping into his bedroom, Gaara’s eyes immediately focused where Naruto was. The blond was sitting in possibly the darkest corner of the room, light barely illuminating it. He noticed the blond had wrapped his arms around his bent knees, keeping them painfully pressed against his chest.

Gaara closed the door behind him, locking it, so no one would disturb them. Though he was a stranger to the vast variety of emotions humans could feel, he could distinguish the raw emotional state his friend was in. His biggest problem was actually figuring out what he was suppose to do in situations like these. After all, he was quite inexperienced in that department.

“Ne Gaara? Can I sleep in your room?” Naruto asked innocently. He did his best to keep himself composed, but seeing so many of his former life standing right there in the living room, wanting to talk to him, it made him feel confused, even angry. The worst part was seeing ero-sennin, the man looked _disappointed_ in him…

Gaara nodded. In truth, he had expected it since leaving the blond alone in a room was not an option, especially with the Leaf staying with them down the hall.

Naruto stood up, slowly making his way towards the bed. He took off his boots and his orange jacket, setting them aside on the single chair next to the night table. Crawling into the bed, he settled on his left side, curling in a fetal position beneath the bed sheets. He was just so tired after all that happened. Maybe a good night sleep would help him face tomorrow’s ordeals.

Gaara made his way to the bed on the opposite side of the blond, removing his sand gourd from his back, tilting it against the night stand. Climbing into bed, he moved the pillow out of the way so he could sit, his back resting against the wall.

“I’ll be here if you need me.”

“Thanks.” Naruto closed his eyes, letting the darkness finally claim him.

* * *

After a quick tour of the main house and guest house in which the Leaf would settle in for the next few days, Temari and Kankuro brought them back to the hallways of the main house where the sand-nin bedrooms were and the staircase that allowed them to head down into the kitchen and living room area.

“If you are hungry, you’ll have to go through here again and down the stairs to the main kitchen.” Kankuro pointed back to the stairs they had initially taken. “If there is anything else you need, this is my room and Temari’s over there” He pointed at their rooms.

“You can easily pair yourselves in the rooms. Many were actually designed to accommodate a 4-man team.” Temari shared with them, seeing as they were 15 people in the end.

The genins huddles together, trying to figure out what was easiest and more practical for their sleeping arrangements. Uninterested by the current debate, Akamaru snuggled his way out of Kiba’s jacket, landing silently on the floor. The dog-nin sniffed the air with interest, slowly heading towards a single room located at the end of the corridor, next to the stairs.

“What the hell is that thing doing?” Kankuro hissed when he noticed the small dog sniffing and scratching the bottom of the door. It wasn’t until it started to bark that Kankuro bolted to the bedroom. His only focus was removing the annoying yapping monstrosity before something much worse would appear. “Get away from there!” He snapped at the dog, stomping his foot close enough to the dog so it would back off.

Feeling the changes in the air, Akamaru quickly realized the large boot coming towards him. He pushed his front paws against the floor, jumping back, landing a few feet away from his original location. His tail straightened, lowering his front paws, ready to pounce if necessary. He never relaxed even after hearing the voice of Kiba behind him.

“What are you doing!?” Kiba yelled out, rushing over, his fists were closed, aching for a fight as he stood behind his friend.

The puppet master stood straight, “This is your only warning. Stay away from this room at all times.” Kankuro warned them with a stern voice.

Akamaru jumped back into Kiba’s arms, giving small barks to his friend which only he understood. The beastmaster then looked at the door almost eerily, giving him shivers.

“What’s in the room?” Shikamaru asked. Clearly it was something important for Kankuo to react this way.

“What did Akamaru say?” Kurenai asked, placing a hand on her student’s shoulder.

He looked back at group, “Gaara and Naruto are in there.” Kiba translated to them.

_‘Naruto and Gaara in the same room?’_ Sasuke, Neji and Shikamaru shared a similar thought. If they were in the main house, bedrooms here were only with single beds, compared to the guest house which was made for teams.

Kankuro forced a cough, “Yes. Gaara doesn’t like to be disturbed and your friend needs his rest. If you want to see him, then wait for tomorrow, or else I can’t guarantee your safety.” Kankuro warned them.

Jiraiya stepped in, sensing the wariness amongst the young ones. “We understand. Can you tell us why they are in the same room?” Jiraiya took a chance and asked. Any information would probably help understand better how things went so wrong with Naruto.

Kankuro raised an eyebrow. “Eh… It’s the best way for him to keep watch on your missing-nin.” It was a half-truth, easier to sell than saying Gaara wanted him around. He couldn’t really talk about how Naruto presence actually calmed down Gaara’s own demon.. a feat never accomplished before. Either way, it was something they needed to clarify with him tomorrow.

Jiraiya nodded. “Come now children, time to go to your rooms and get your beauty sleep!” The Sennin put on a façade, cheerfully pushed them down the corridor to the guest rooms.

“Come Kakashi. We should get a good night sleep and clear up our heads.” Gai merrily said, wrapping his arm around his rival’s neck, dragging him to their chosen room.

As the Leaf made their way to their own rooms, Kankuro let out a sigh of relief. He really didn’t want to deal with his little brother’s angry mood again, since he was already threatened enough for the day. He looked back over to his sister, noticing her frowning.

“Something wrong?” He asked, he could always read her like an open book when it concerned their family.

“You do realize that the next three days are going to be anything but easy?” She shared, exasperated just thinking about it. They were only 3 of them against 15 Leafs. Although they could assume the Sennin and Jonins would managed their teams, still that is a lot of people in a house that hadn’t seen a visitor since the past decade.

* * *

Group by group, the shinobis chose their guest bedroom. It actually surprised most of them when Neji and Sasuke made their pick, bunking together. Both geniuses figured it was easier this room to get some peace and quiet from their other teammates, not wanting to deal with the kunoichis either.

Closing the bedroom door behind them, they took note of what was in the room, which wasn’t much, bot that they minded. It was still better than sleeping outdoors. Similar to the main house, the walls were painted in a taupe color. Inside consisted of two beds; one to the left side and the other on the right side. The small window located in the middle of the outside wall overlooked the now empty street with a small table and 2 padded chairs. It was the bare minimum but they were fine with it.

“Not going to sleep?” Neji asked, seeing the Uchiha walking towards the window, pulling back the chair on the right.

“Hn” Sasuke replied, sitting down.

“Mind if I join you?”

“Hn.”

Neji settled in the other chair, looking outside towards the moon, more what he could make of it. The winds have started to pick up and gusts of sand swirled slowly in the midnight air. It wouldn’t be too long until the sandstorm completely engulfed the sky.

* * *

When Kakashi, Gai and Jiraiya stepped into their guest bedroom, three beds awaited them, each bed was set in the corners of the room, clockwise, while the last corner was a small sitting area with a small sofa, small coffee table and two chairs. As they each picked a bed, nobody could deny the lingering heavy tension in the air.

“Be patient. We’ll get the old Naruto back.” Gai tried to reassure both of them, walking over to the Sennin, while Kakashi simply took the nearest chair and sat down in it.

“Whatever happened, hopefully, we get the answers before we leave.” Kakashi commented, laying back in the chair and pulling out his reading book. Even if it were better to get some sleep, under these circumstances, he doubted he’d be able to get any.

“He’s energetic and full of life, he will return to how he was.” Gai said to them, hoping to cheer them further.

“If it was something else, I would agree… But this time, this time, things went too far to the point we could lose him for good.” Jiraiya softly spoke. He knew little bits of the story here and there, but seeing Naruto face to face tonight, there was definitely something more than just that particular event. Now he just needed to find out what it was.

* * *

Chouji and Shikamaru entered their guest bedroom, the young Chunin wasted no time to settle into the one on the right, laying on his back, eyes staring at the ceiling. Chouji walked to the other one, not really picky about this kind of thing, but one look at this best friend and he knew something was up.

“Ne Shikamaru?” It was one of the first time actually spoke since this all started. He noticed the Nara tilt his head towards him, locking eyes. “How bad is it really?” He wasn’t dumb, he could see the Jonins exchanging small worried glances between them since they stepped into the house.

Shikamaru sighed, he still didn’t know the whole story yet, but it didn’t take a genius to figure out this went deeper than just Naruto fighting with Sasuke.

“Bad. And it will get worse before it gets better.”

* * *

Kiba stood under the doorway, dumfounded. How in the hell did he end up with Shino again? The boy grated his nerves by simply staying silent. He needed interaction, someone to speak to. But no, the girls didn’t want to mingle with the boys and Shikamaru was quick to escape the situation with Chouji. He certainly didn’t want to be paired with the geniuses, knowing how both were cold bastards.

“Close the lights and sleep.” Shino told him in his monotone voice. The young genin was already in bed, laying on his left side, facing the wall.

“The hell…” He murmured, almost in a low growl. He really hated being ordered around, much less by his teammate.

“Kiba.”

“Yeah yeah hold on you …” Kiba let out, closing the door behind him and closing the lights, annoyed with the bug boy.

This was going to be a long 3 days…

* * *

With the other teams settled in in pairs mostly, the girls decided to stick together. They had noticed a few rooms with four beds in them, luckily, one of those rooms happened to be right next to Sasuke’s current bedroom. Ino and Sakura were more than happy to pounce on it, while Tenten and Hinata really didn’t have a formed opinion on the matter.

They were two beds on the right side of the room separated by a single night stand between them. It was the same setup for the left side. Unlike the other bedrooms, they had two large windows with two couches, enough to seat three people each.

As they all settled into their beds, Ino approached her friend, worried about her.

“Ne Sakura?” Ino gently grasped the pink haired-kunoichi by the shoulder. “We got him back, so don’t worry.”

Sakura sighed. “I just wonder what kind of damage it will do to our team with all this happening.” They always bickered, but that fight on the rooftop, something changed and it wasn’t for the best.

“I-I’m sure e-everything will w-work out.” Hinata stuttered, tapping her fingers nervously together.

Although Tenten didn’t interact much with them, she still gave a small smile when Hinata looked her way. The young Hyuga quickly turned red, lowering her eyes to the ground. This mission was going to be really special.

* * *

“You’re worried.” Asuma let out, sitting on the edge of the bed, opposite of where his colleague was. The two ended up pairing together, not wanting to stay with Gai or Kakashi. Besides they had the Sennin with them.

“Naruto was declared a missing-nin. Officially.” Kurenai reminded him, pushing the bedsheets aside.

“The Hokage was left with no choice. You know that.” He answered.

“Yes, I don’t need to like it, nonetheless.” She snapped back. With the death of the Third Hokage and the appearance of the new threat to which Itachi was associated with now, having a missing-nin was one thing, it was another when that missing-nin turned out to be the Kyuubi holder.

“We’re only here 3 days at most.”

“A lot can happen in three days Asuma.” She cautioned.

Asuma sighed, suddenly he really wanted to go out and smoke.

* * *

Kankuro was making their final rounds around the house before going to bed, something he did every night as a precaution. In the past they had certain intruders sneak in and try to kill Gaara. Sure the redhead could defend himself, but it would only take one time where one of those intruders would turn against him or his sister. He couldn’t chance it, so he continued on his evening patrols.

His last stop was the living room and kitchen. When he stepped off the stairs, he noticed his sister sitting in the windowstill again, looking outside despite the visibility being hindered by gusts of winds and sand.

“What’s wrong Temari?”

She took a deep breath, “Even though we don’t know the whole story between Gaara and Naruto, I think.. I think it would be _bad_ if both of them get separated. Can you remember the last time Gaara actually smiled or showed any other emotion beside the need to kill?”

Kankuro bit his inner cheek, knowing that his sister had a damn good point. “I know…”

“For once I wish we could do something.” Temari mumbled out, discouraged by the situation. As much as they initially wanted Naruto to just leave, seeing how he interacted with Gaara made them see their little brother in a new light.

“Maybe there is.” Kankuro softly whispered.

Her head snapped up, frowning.

“Just keep your mouth shut and come with me.” Kankuro told her as he grabbed her wrist to talk privately in his room where no one could listen.

****

* * *

Naruto didn’t know how long he was asleep in Gaara’s bed, but however long, he felt at peace. He slowly opened his eyes, looking at the bedroom door where he last saw Gaara a few hours ago maybe? He turned around and unexpectedly came face to a leg in this case, with Gaara’s left knee.

“Gaara …” Naruto whispered, carefully examining the redhead who sat next to him.

Pushing his hands against the firm mattress, Naruto sat on his knees, facing what appeared to be Gaara sleeping. The redhead had settled no less than a foot from Naruto, his legs crossed over the other near his body, his arms resting on top of each kneecap. Naruto noticed how calm Gaara seemed, his eyes closed, he almost seemed relaxed.

Naruto couldn’t help but smile a little.

Despite being kept warm under the sheets of the bed, Naruto still felt somewhat cold. But looking at the redhead now, he couldn’t help thinking back at the moment when Gaara kissed him, willingly.

“I wonder what’s that feeling I got …” Naruto mumbled to himself, unconsciously bringing his index finger to his lower lip.

He grabbed the sheets and blanket from the bed, pulling them closer to where they both were. As he crawled closer to Gaara, he couldn’t help but caress softly the sleeping boy’s cheek. He was being drawn into that peaceful aura around the sand-nin. He leaned forward placing his lips softly against Gaara’s.

_‘Still warm.’_ Naruto thought, pulling away from those warm lips. It wasn’t that he expected it to be cold, but Gaara’s lighter skin color had him wondering and it’s not like he had kissed a lot in his life so far.

Seeing that Gaara was still sleeping, Naruto gently wrapped a blanket around Gaara’s body, careful to not wake him up in the process. He laid back down, near to the redhead under the covers, sliding his pillow closer as well.

“Goodnight.” Naruto whispered, nuzzling closer to the other boy’s body finally closing his eyes hopefully for a longer period of time.

After a short time, Naruto’s breathing finally evened out, steady. Gaara slowly opened his eyes, raising his right hand to his lips. He brought two fingers to his lips where moments ago, Naruto kissed him, truly believing he was asleep. He looked down at the sleeping blond, smiling.

To be continued

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what your thoughts were on this chapter/story and feel free to share theories. ^_^
> 
> You can always check my profile to see what I plan publishing next. I pretty much update it weekly since I have two open Naruto stories (this one plus my first AU) that I publish weekly, alternating between both. My Naruto fics vary depending on my brain from oneshots, to series, with different pairings. 
> 
> Thank you again for reading, commenting and/or kudosing (is that even a word?)
> 
> Ookima


	14. Chapter Fourteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you again for all the warm comments, theories (some of you are close!) and continued support I hope you enjoy this next chapter as well!
> 
> A special thanks to my muse Dhampir (Dhampire) who checks up after me for the story and points out stuff I might have missed. Thank you my muse! ^_^
> 
> _Disclaimer : I do not own Naruto, nor the characters from it._

With the sun now set, Tsunade had yet to hear anything from the teams. As she glanced outside her window, waiting for any kind of sign, she unwillingly snapped the pencil in two that was in her right hand, frustration creeping in more and more. How she just wanted to get out there and drag that idiot back home.

“I don’t think looking outside will help you complete your work.“ A rough familiar voice spoke.

Tsunade quickly shifted her attention towards that voice. It only confirmed what she suspected as she stared at the small furry creature. Right on top of her desk, Pakun sat nonchalantly.

“What happened?” She almost growled at him. She expected to see the teams back with a blond kicking and screaming. She didn’t think only the dog-nin to be present, which meant something was definitely wrong.

“Everyone’s alright. However, there is a _small_ problem.” He emphasized on the word small.

She raised her eyebrow, her patience already running thin. “What kind of small problem?” Nothing was ever simple when Naruto was involved…

“Jiraiya and the others successfully located Naruto, and the sand brats are lending a helping hand.” Pakun began.

“But he is within their custody?” Tsunade wanted to confirm. The dog-nin nodded. “Then why aren’t they here?”

Pakun growled. Damn that Kakashi for sending him straight out into a freaking sand storm and not tell him about it being on his ass! That man will later on pay for _forgetting_ that simple yet very important detail.

“Well?” She started tapping her index fingers on the desk’s surface impatiently.

“There’s a sandstorm right now. It’s going to take a few days before anyone can go in or out of that village.”

She leaned back into her chair, her elbows on the armsrests while her fingers intertwined together. Sighing deeply as the information sank in. She knew that catching Naruto was already a challenge in itself. Problem was when he was determined to do something, he usually succeeded. And now he just gained a few extra days to maybe find a way to escape again. She could only hope that Jiraiya and Kakashi would think as she did and act accordingly.

“How bad is the situation?” She asked, almost hesitantly. She knew that there would not be a joyful answer. After all, she wrote Naruto as a missing-nin and now he was being dragged back to Leaf without his consent branded as one, his chances of even becoming the next Hokage in jeopardy thanks to his stupidity.

“I didn’t see the boy, but from what Kakashi told me, it might prove difficult to manage. For now, they at least have the sand-nins’s help for their stay there.”

“At least they are helping us this time. Hopefully, that will continue.”

Right now all they could do is wait for the sandstorm to pass.

* * *

Naruto snuggled closer to the source of heat, wriggling an arm around Gaara’s leg, clinging it to it almost desperately. He couldn’t understand this feeling, usually when he was in the process of waking up, he always felt cold, but something was different, he felt warm, safe. It wasn’t until he felt something soft on the back of his neck that he finally opened his eyes, trying to focus on whatever was in front of him. Despite his vision still a bit blurry, he brought his hand up towards the back of his neck, running his fingers over the multiple soft bumps he felt as he was trying to figure out what it was. With his eyes clearing up, he noticed the black mesh shirt and white sash Gaara always wore. Then it clicked.

“G-Gaara?” Naruto softly spoke, using his right elbow, he pressed it against the mattress to raise his upper body and better look into those green eyes.

“Did I wake you?” Gaara asked calmly, his hand retreating from the blond’s neck.

“N-No.” He let out timidly, stretching his arms out before sitting correctly on the bed. “It’s been a long time since I actually had a good night sleep.” His eyes glanced at the only window in the bedroom, seeing it was brighter outside than when he fell asleep the night before.

“I wouldn’t know.” Gaara let out.

Naruto looked at him confused and then he remembered. “Because of Shukaku you can’t sleep right?”

The redhead nodded.

An awkward silence filled the room until a loud grumble disrupted it. Gaara cocked his head sideways, eyeing the other boy’s stomach. Naruto couldn’t help the sound, quickly putting his hands over his stomach, hoping of diminishing the continuous growl. When it diminished, he looked back at Gaara, softly smile, scratching the back of his head nervously.

“S-Sorry for the noise.”

“Hungry?” Gaara asked.

“Yeah… I didn’t eat anything since yesterday.” Naruto answered, feeling a bit uneasy under Gaara’s intense stares.

Noticing what seemed to be discomfort in the blond, Gaara uncrossed his legs, leaving the comforts of the bed. Reaching for his gourd, he flung it over his shoulder before reaching over the bed, grabbing Naruto’s wrist forcefully.

“H-hey!” Naruto objected, barely able to find his footing as he was literarily dragged out of the bed. He felt somewhat, dominated by Gaara, and yet, it didn’t feel all that bad. He just wondered why suddenly the sand-nin grabbed him and pulled him out of bed for no reason, though. “Gaara! Where are you bringing me!?” Hearing no answer to his question, Naruto yanked on his wrist, effectively getting out of the hold. Unfortunately he did so with a bit too much force, tripping over his own two feet, landing hard on his ass.

Gaara looked back curiously at him. Most people were too scared of him and never dared to resist him, but only this boy, Naruto, reacted so much differently then all the others. It’s actually what made him so interesting. He extended his arm, offering his hand to the blond.

“You’re hungry. The kitchen is where the food is.” Gaara explained in a monotone tone.

Naruto blinked. “Oh…” Well, that made sense.

Looking at Gaara’s hand, Naruto smiled at him. He grasped it tightly with his right hand, pushing himself off the floor with his left hand as the sand-nin pulled him towards him with a bit more force than what was initially necessary. Naruto stumbled forward and Gaara quickly put his other hand on the blond’s shoulder to steady him. Their bodies close enough to feel the other’s warmth, lips almost touching. Blue eyes deeply gazed into green ones.

_‘The only thing I can think of is feeling those lips again … Why?’_ Naruto asked himself, he knew he wouldn’t find the answer today, but still it continued to plague his thoughts, wanting to put words he understood to what he was feeling.

“Uzumaki.” Gaara softly whispered his name.

“Yeah?” Naruto huskily let out.

“Why did you kiss me last night?” Gaara asked, curious to know what motivated the blond to do something of the sort.

Surprised by the sudden revelation, he quickly stepped back, “You … You were awake!?”

“I don’t sleep. I only close my eyes to think.” Gaara reminded him.

“Oh right… I’m sorry. I thought you were sleeping, and I don’t know. I just felt like it?” Naruto trailed off looking at the floor. He just couldn’t really explain yet why he felt that way when he didn’t even know himself. He just knew that whatever this was, he had only felt it with him, and as more time passed it seemed to be growing.

“Felt like it?” Gaara repeated as he raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah…” The boy shrugged.

Gaara closed the distance between them. He raised his hand and grabbed Naruto’s chin, leaning forward as their lips met. Naruto’s eyes widened, taking in a quick breath, holding it in, surprised by the fact that Gaara was kissing him. Again! After a few seconds, Gaara broke their kiss, walking away from the other boy. His hand already on the doorknob, pausing mid-turn when he heard Naruto exhaling the breath he unknowingly held in. He turned his head enough to have a glimpse at Naruto’s glazed-over blue eyes.

“Why did you just kiss me?” Naruto asked as he touched his lower lips with his fingers.

“I felt like it.” Gaara let out, walking out of the bedroom. A small smile crept on the his lips, which was completely missed by the blond shinobi. This time.

* * *

“Where are you going?” Sasuke asked, seeing the Hyuga heading towards the door. They never went to sleep, opting to look out the window in silence throughout the night.

“It’s morning now. I would rather train to occupy my time. Care to join?” Neji offered, from what he knew of the Uchiha, he enjoyed training just as much as he did, constantly honing his skills.

“Having a different sparring partner could improve my skills. Especially one with a bloodlimit as good as the Sharingan.” Sasuke let out, pushing his chair back enough so he could slip out of it.

Neji narrowed his eyes. “Uchiha. You should have learned by now that having the Byakugan or Sharingan is an addition to your strength, but it does not make you more powerful than one that has none.” His voice was firm, unyielding.

“You’re referring to Naruto.” Sasuke scoffed, joining the brunette at the door.

Neji nodded. “Although I am not his teammate, it only took one fight with him, to see that everyone underestimates his true strength and potential into becoming a strong shinobi. Surely underneath that thick head of yours, you noticed this as well.” Neji finished, half expecting a reaction from the other genin.

Sasuke chose to ignore Neji’s last comment, biting the interior of his cheek. He didn’t want to agree to that statement, but he had seen signs of the blond always beating the odds and that infuriated him. The loser from the academy slowly rising and getting noticed by their enemies, just as much if not more than he was, and that didn’t sit well with him one bit. Not wanting to entertain this conversation any further, Sasuke walked pass Neji, exiting the bedroom.

Seeing Sasuke disappear down the stairs, Neji couldn’t help but smile. He hadn’t missed the subtle signs and silence from the Uchiha, knowing his words hit a chord in the other boy. Closing the door to their guest bedroom, he paused short of the first descending step, glancing over to where Naruto locked himself away the night before.

_‘Although a tragedy occurred in your clan Uchiha, it seems that you grew fond of Naruto, since I suppose, he’s the only one that didn’t treat or compare you to your brother…’_ Neji pondered, shifting his eyes towards downstairs.

When Neji thought about it, he knew better than anyone the burden of having to bear a strong family name. Sasuke being branded as the last Uchiha survivor of a powerful clan was an enormous weight on Sasuke’s shoulder, even more since it was his life’s mission to avenge his clan and kill his brother. The Village, the adults, almost everyone put Uchiha Sasuke on a pedestal, yet only a single boy treated him like he was another boy, not caring a single second about his clan’s name. If Neji didn’t know any better, he’d almost speculate that Naruto had manage to crack those thick icy walls Sasuke had put up since the tragedy.

The bigger question being; would Sasuke finally accept it?

* * *

Shikamaru brought a hand to his forehead, sliding his fingers through his hair. “Today is going to be so troublesome …” Shikamaru let out, staring at the ceiling. He knew that tensions would remain high with Naruto’s unwillingness to come back home, much less have a conversation with any of them.

He would have slept longer had it not been for the constant bickering he heard in the other guest bedroom, and by the single voice he heard, it was Kiba. Knowing that Shino wasn’t much of a talker, it didn’t surprise him that it was more of a one-sided argument.

“You always find everything troublesome.” Chouji mumbled from underneath the bedsheets. Whatever his best friend was ranting about, unless it was food, he just wanted to sleep.

“Choji get up.”

His best friend didn’t move one bit.

“Choji, there’s food downstairs.”

“I’m up” I’m up!” The boy yelled out, quickly putting his gear on, stammering out of his bed and headed straight downstairs to the kitchen. Never get between Chouji and his food. The boy was just unstoppable.

_‘If only the other genins could be as simple as him.’_ He shook his head in disbelief, chuckling when he saw Choji trip on his own two feet and roll down the stairs.

* * *

Green eyes blinked opened, her vision partially obstructed by the few thin strands of pink hair in the way. Sakura slowly sat up, brushing her hair behind her ears as she slowly remembered where she was; Sand Village. Looking around the guest room, she quickly noticed her three teammates still sleeping in their bed.

Silently, she made her way to the tall mirror that stood next to Ino’s bed, carefully brushing her hair, so she wouldn’t have any knots in them before putting back her headband on. She smiled at the mirror, proud of how she looked perfect despite their current mission.

“I hope Sasuke-kun will compliment me today …” Sakura let out softly and giggled. _“HELL YEAH! I’m so beautiful that he’s sure to notice me over Ino-pig!”_ Inner Sakura shouted, waving her fists around. Not wanting the competition, she didn’t wake the girls. Instead, she stealthily left the room without making a single sound and headed for the kitchen in the hopes of getting some alone time with Sasuke.

* * *

When Gai woke up on this lovely morning, his eyes quickly settled on his Jonin colleague, still sitting in that chair form last night. The only difference was his attention seemed turned towards whatever sound or movement that took place on the other side of their door. He sighed, understanding his rival’s feelings towards the situation of his student. No doubt he would feel the same if not worse if something happened to any of his beloved students.

“Have any of you gotten any sleep?” Gai spoke out worryingly, shifting his attention towards the Sennin, who seemed deep in thought with whatever material he was reading from the sprawled out scrolls on the bed.  
  


“Iie.” Jiraiya replied, yet hasn't spared a single glance at the Jonin.

  
“Kakashi?” Gai turned his attention back to his long-time rival.

“Just thinking.” Kakashi replied softly.

“Still worried about him aren’t you?” Gai asked, getting out of bed and settling down in the chair next to his long time rival.

Kakashi lowered his shoulder almost in defeat, “He’s my student Gai… I should have seen this coming…” Kakashi partially blamed himself for things getting this much out of control. He was so focused on Sasuke’s anger and the curse he now bared, he almost discarded Naruto in the process.

So far, Jiraiya had chosen not to partake in the conversation, until now. “Kakashi, this was to be expected. After all, we all knew too well that the Villagers still treated him as though he was the Kyubi himself. With Uchiha Itachi appearing in the picture, clearly after Naruto and not sparing a single thought to Sasuke, it just placed more strain on their bond. Naruto wants nothing more than that boy admitting he’s an equal, and yet the Uchiha brat clings to his revenge, ignoring Naruto to the point of putting him down. It would take its toll on anybody.” Jiraiya informed them both of them, closing his scrolls now.

“Jiraiya-sama’s right. I admire Naruto-kun for that too.” Gai shared with them, earning him surprised looks.

“Oh?”

“If Naruto didn’t have such determination and a strong will, I would doubt he would have been able to endure such a harsh life since he was a child. The fact that he continued to live and set out to realize his dreams, along with his will to never give up, it’s amazing he lasted for so long… I’m more surprised of how long he lasted, before he broke down and shut us out.” Gai explained carefully. He always saw the positive in any situation, but he was amazed at the fact that the Kyuubi-holder never once complained about his life and chose the path to prove everyone wrong by becoming the biggest and most powerful shinobi the world has ever seen.

Jiraya couldn’t help but softly smile at Gai’s way of thinking. “The question we should ask ourselves now, is if we can still save him…” Jiraiya let out.

It was the very question that tugged in all of their minds, but no one dared to actually ask aloud.

* * *

Before stepping into the large kitchen area, Naruto took his time to properly look at it. Never in his life had he seen a kitchen space this large and deep. Maybe it was because there wasn’t any wall seperating it form the living room that was just as big if not bigger.

He noticed that unlike normal homes, the kitchen lacked a table, instead the space where it would have been was left empty. The only way to eat while sitting down would be at the large 15-feet kitchen island with a pure white marble countertop, where 4 black padded high chairs were carefully placed. By not having a table, it really left more than enough space for any number of visitors to come inside without being elbow to elbow. And from the scuff marks on the floor, they had actually moved the kitchen island further away from the cabinets, giving a good 5 feet wide of space between the dark brown cabinets and the kitchen island. Strangely enough the only thing that shined in the kitchen, was that white marble countertop, it clashed so much with those dark brown-like cabinets and cupboards and the taupe painted walls. It wasn’t ugly, but it wasn’t pretty either.

He shook his head, snapping himself out of it. By habit, Naruto took a deep breath and smiled as he made his way towards the refrigerator to see what was actually available to eat. He barely had to walk around the beginning of the kitchen island to get to it, and with so much space in between, they could easily fit two to three people side by side.

When Gaara came up next to him, he immediately noticed smile, the _fake_ smile on the blond’s face. “Naruto, don’t hide yourself when I’m here.” The redhead ordered him.

“S-Sorry… It’s just how I deal with daily things…” His voice trailed off, he looked almost ashamed for doing it. He had been doing this act for so long; it was part of him by default.

Gaara lifted the blond’s chin up with his fingers. “Naruto –“

“Gaara, are you here?” A female voice spoke out on the other side of the door that connected to the third house.

Gaara lowered his hand at the very same moment Temari walked into the kitchen from the door that connected both houses. The blond kunoichi spotted her little brother, behind him a timid Naruto stood. She eyed him closely, clearly something had just happened and chances were she and Kankuro interrupted them.

“Good morning.” Naruto greeted them with a weak smile.

Kankuro joined them in the kitchen, “Ah… You’re up early …”

“Kankuro.” She hissed at him, elbowing him in the ribs. “Did you sleep well Naruto?” Temari asked with a genuine smile.

Naruto was taken aback. This was actually the first time either sand-nin siblings had spoken to him, well _normally_. “Yes!” Naruto replied happily, smiling in return.

“Naruto, would you mind if we took Gaara for a few minutes?” She asked politely.

“Oh… Sure. I’m just going to make something to eat before I go train… “

Naruto turned his back on the sand-nin siblings, searching the cupboards and drawers for the what he needed. Seeing as how Naruto was now occupied, they could easily go into the room next door and speak privately without being interrupted by anyone.

_‘I kinda feel empty when he’s not around …’_ Naruto thought now that Gaara was not by his side. Strangely, the sand-nin never left his side. Naruto had actually grown accustomed to it in such a short period of time.

* * *

Although the room was located in the third extension of the house, it fairly remained close to where the main kitchen was. Padded and soundproofed enough that no one on the other side of that thick wall could hear their conversation. Their decision to place the Leaf shinobis on the opposite side of the main house was even better given the situation at hand.

With the door now securely closed, Kankuro barely had time to turn around to be met with a pair of glaring green eyes at him.

“Get to the point.” The redhead urged him to make this short.

“I … I mean we kinda noticed that having Naruto around is a good thing.” Temari stuttered, feeling the sudden tension in the atmosphere. This was definitely not their initial goal when they asked to speak privately with him.

  
  
“You’re saying that he calms both Shukaku and me.” Gaara translated for them, much to both her and Kankuro’s surprise.  
  


“Look Gaara, we were thinking that maybe it would be good to keep the brat here.” Kankuro added calmly.

“You stayed up all night to think of a way so I could keep Naruto?” He asked them, noticing the dark circles under Temari’s eyes. He could only assume under Kankuro’s make-up it would be the same, after all, those two always stuck together when it came to planning.

Kankuro breathing hitched. “Never mind. It was a bad idea anyway.” Kankuro shakenly let out. Having normal conversation with his little brother was never an easy feat by far, but clearly the redhead was not interested in speaking further about the subject, right?

“I want to hear it.” Gaara let out, surprising both siblings. It wasn’t uncommon for him to threaten them with tearing off limbs or death.

Temari and Kankuro looked at each other, silently wondering who should actually speak up first. They had half expected Gaara to tell them to fuck off or die. Yet, the boy who stood in front of them now, was openly asking for their input on whatever they conjured up. As strange as it was, it felt good to see their little brother acting more human than monster.

“Maybe father could do something to keep him here.” She started, momentarily forgetting how riled up Gaara got whenever he heard that man mentioned.

Gaara glared at her. “I don’t want that man’s help.” He coldly stated, a note of finality in his voice.

“Then there are only two ways for this to go and you are only going to like one of them.” Kankuro began, knowing that it might not be what Gaara wanted, but it’s not like they had lots of options to choose from. In the end, either way, Gaara needed to know.

Gaara closed his eyes, trying to calm the ache that was beginning in his chest of not having Naruto near him. “What are they?”

* * *

Not wanting to stay in the shared space longer than needed, he quickly wolfed down the yogourt and fruits on the kitchen island. Once he was done with his meal, he made sure to clean out his bowl and spoon before laying them on the drying rack of the sink located just on the other side of the kitchen island, just under a row of cupboards. His ears perked up when he heard footsteps coming down the main stairs.

_‘Like I needed this…’_ Naruto mentally sighed. He didn’t even have to look to know who it was. He only hoped that he could keep in check his emotions long enough to retreat back into Gaara’s bedroom.

Sasuke stepped into the kitchen, slowly walking towardsthe left side of the kitchen island where Naruto was, while Neji seemed to stay at a more reasonable distance, just at the edge of the kitchen island. It wasn’t long until blue eyes stared into black ones.

“Dobe.”

Naruto’s shoulder tensed up, hearing his old nickname. He still had enough self-control to simply ignore it for now. He looked over his shoulder, noticing the Hyuga prodigy staying at a distance, probably observing more than anything. He knew from his past encounters with the Hyuga that the genin always observed before acting or saying anything. So his only worry was dealing with the Uchiha, who was blocking the shortest way out of there. He could have stepped back, going around the kitchen island but the fact remained that on the other side, Neji was there and he couldn’t tell if the Hyuga would do anything to stop him.

“Out of my way… Uchiha.” Naruto coldly demanded, standing his ground.

“Not until you and I talk.” Sasuke clearly stated.

“Talk about what? The fact I left Konoha or the fact that I dared to tell you loud enough about this thing going on between you and Itachi? There are so many topics, all you gotta do is pick one.” Naruto hissed with anger and yet, his control waning.

Sasuke blinked. He was surprised at how casually Naruto spoke Itachi’s name as if they were friends. The Uchiha clenched his fists, almost ready to pounce on the blond. Luckily for Naruto, the simple presence of the Hyuga 3 feet away was enough to keep his own emotions in check.

* * *

Gaara’s eyes remained closed for quite some time, processing what his siblings had just told him. He could make the decision, but it needed to come from Naruto. Only he knew what he truly wanted. He could only hope it was the same thing as him.

“What do you want us to do then?” Kankuro asked.

“Nothing.” Gaara answered, opening his eyes.

“But …”

“The last thing we need is the Leaf suspecting something. I will speak to Naruto about this when the Leaf is out to meet with the Kazekage.”  
  


They both gulped. They always had trouble _reading_ Gaara, but now it was even harder.

Gaara turned around, grabbing the doorknob, stopping mi-turn. “Thank you.” He whispered loud enough for them to hear.

Gaara stepped out, leaving the siblings in utter shock. This was the first time the redhead _thanked them_ for, well anything! They exchanged half-confused glanced and almost wanted to laugh. The only times Gaara acted like their brother was when he was with Uzumaki Naruto.

“Somehow, I hope Naruto picks option number 2.” Temari let out as Kankuro placed a hand on her shoulder.

“You are aware that if that happens, it will mean more trouble for all of us right?” Kankuro reminded his sister.

“I think it will be worth it.” She smiled warmly at him. “When’s the last time you saw Gaara smile or show any emotion at all?”

“Not since father ignored him and Yashamaru’s death …” He answered with no hesitation.

* * *

“I won’t ask again.” Naruto glared at his former rival. He could feel the anger in the pit of his stomach, slowly rising with each passing second. He didn’t need this shit right now.

“Then make me.” Sasuke smirked, he always knew which buttons to push after all.

He snickered at the typical answer that bastard shot him. “Answer me this Sasuke. That night, you told me to stay out of your business about you wanting to kill Itachi. So stay the hell out of mine! Unless you want me to remind you of certain events concerning your brother.” Naruto evilly grinned. Sasuke wasn’t the only one who knew which buttons to push to get a reaction.

The simple fact that Naruto was actually smiling when he spoke out so freely about Itachi hit a nerve in the younger Uchiha. Without realizing it, his Sharingan flared up. Before Neji could even react, Sasuke grabbed Naruto by the collar with both hands, pushing him roughly against the kitchen pantry doors. Having successfully pinned the blond, Sasuke closed his right fist pulling it back and ready to punch him, but when Sasuke gazed into those eyes, all he saw was emptiness. He blinked, Sharingan still active. There wasn’t any anger, or sadness in those blue eyes. It almost looked like he had given up… and that wasn’t Naruto one bit.  
  


Neji took advantage of that hesitation, raising his voice at the Uchiha. “Sasuke don’t.” He was about to move when he saw Kakashi standing right next to Sasuke and Naruto.

“Sasuke. What do you think you’re doing?” Kakashi snapped, placing a firm hand on Sasuke’s left shoulder.

The young Uchiha tensed under the light but very noticeable pressure, especially when he felt the Jonin’s fingers dig deeper into his shoulder, painfully. Naruto on the other hand, showed no signs of even resisting Sasuke. The boy had clearly pinned him against the pantry, yet he didn’t show any panic, annoyance nor anger. It was like only an outer shell stood before them.

Before long, Shikamaru, Chouji, Kiba, Shino and Sakura were now gathering at the edge of the kitchen, stopping dead in their tracks when their eyes took in the scene in front of them. It didn’t take a genius to figure that something went wrong and by the looks of it, it wasn’t getting any better.

“I want him to answer!” Sasuke angrily replied to his teacher.

“If you’re going to hit me then just do it.”

Everyone’s attention immediately turned towards Naruto. The way he said that just now was painful. It felt as the Naruto they all knew, the hyperactive prankster of Konoha was _broken_.

Neji blinked in surprise. “Naruto.”

“What..?” Kiba wasn’t too sure if he even heard right the first time.

“Well?” Naruto repeated again.

Kakashi felt heartbroken seeing him this way. “Naruto why would you – “

His blue eyes grew colder by the second. “It wouldn’t be any different.”

“What are you talking about?” Kiba cocked his head to the side. He really just wanted to shake the boy back to reality. This was not the ignorant annoyingly proud Naruto he faced weeks ago.

Shikamaru blocked Kiba off quickly with his hand. The beast master was about to snap back at the young Chunin but when he took one look into the brunette’s eyes, he held his tongue. Shikamaru’s eyes lacked the usual laziness he usually portrayed. No. this was the Chunin in action, analysing and making damn sure no one interfere unless Kakashi or Jiraiya ordered them too.

Sensing the situation deteriating, Jiraiya walked past Kakashi and Sasuke, which prompted Sasuke to finally let go of his hold on the blond. He looked down at his student, placing his hand on the boy’s shoulder for comfort, as he did many times in the past. He just didn’t expect Naruto to flinch at the sudden contact.

“Naruto. Is that why you left Konoha?” Jiraiya asked seriously.

The blond’s eyes softened, almost painfully whenever Ero-Sennin spoke to him, “Among many reasons.” His voice sounded distant, desperately trying to keep his composure.

“Sasuke.” The Jonin’s tone was a warning to the young prodigy, knowing the slightest thing could actually set any of the two off at this point.

“I’m not moving until you tell us the whole story.” Sasuke stated, grabbing once more Naruto’s collar.

“Just get your hands off of me Uchiha!” Naruto yelled out, he just had enough of this bullshit.

In seconds, Kakashi had both hands on Sasuke’s shoulders, prying him away while Jiraiya physically stepped in between the boys. The Sennin gave a warning glance at the Jonin, letting him know he better handle that student of his. Fast.

“Sasuke, don’t interfere anymore.” Kakashi’s voice was stern, commanding.

Naruto lunged forward only to be physically stopped by the older man. “You bastard! I’d give anything to trade places with you!”

Sasuke barely took a step forward, wanting nothing more than to further engage with the blond idiot, but Kakashi’s hands held him tightly in place, which infuriated him even more. “You idiot! My whole clan was wiped out by Itachi and that bastard left me alive because I wasn’t even worth killing! Who would possibly want that kind of a life!?”

“Me.” It was short, but direct, void of any emotions.

“…W-What?” Sasuke’s fury suddenly vanished and replaced with confusion. That single 2 letter word sinking in. How could anyone, _ever_ , want what he had, what he lived through?

“You think my life is better than yours? Guess again. Being ignored by everyone, knowing that all they wish for is your death because of what you are.” Naruto began when Jiraiya cut him off.

Naruto that’s – “ Jiraiya started but the blond wasn’t hearing any of it, pressing forward against the arm that held him back.

“ - the cold glares, the constant whispers, the occasional beating just to remind you you’re worthless. As for my parents, I never got to know them and _no one_ ever wanted to tell me who they were, what they did, what they liked or disliked. _NOTHING_! At least you knew them and had your moments with yours before Itachi took them away.” Naruto’s chest tightened so much from saying out loud what he thought every day since he could remember.

_‘Perhaps keeping everything secret to him wasn’t as good as we thought…’_ Jiraiya thought, he never agreed with his former teacher about how they handled Naruto’s unique situation since he was a baby, and now they were going to pay for it.

Naruto leaned back against the pantry doors, trying to catch his breath. Lowering his head enough to hide his face for anyone to see. He hadn’t planned on saying anything else, but hearing Sakura speak his name so easily, angered him.

“Naruto! You can’t just – “ She started, but held her tongue when Naruto lifted his head, his cold eyes locking with hers.

“You’ll never change …” Naruto almost wanted to laugh at the situation. Of course dear Sakura-chan would have something to say about this. She was always the one with all the answers, scolding him for any wrong answer he gave or bad behavior he displayed during missions. He’d had enough, this superficial crush on the pink kunoichi was over. “Sasuke was right about one thing, you are annoying.” Naruto coldly stated.

Sakura eyes widened, bringing her right hand over her slight opened mouth.

“Naruto that’s enough.” Kakashi urged his other student to hold his tongue. Never had he seen the blond react this way towards Sakura.

“And you …” Naruto turned his attention towards former copy-ninja. “You ignored me and treated me just the same way they all did. Guess watching over the almost last Uchiha was more important than even giving me a minute of your precious time.” Naruto spat out in animosity.

“Naruto. Enough.” Jiraiya’s tone was low but firm. Anyone who knew the man knew damn well it wasn’t a suggestion. He was dead serious and Naruto knew it.

Naruto smirked. “Doesn’t matter anyway. Even if you bring me back, the only way you’ll keep me there is either by killing me, which shouldn’t be too hard considering what I am, or by finding some way to to keep me in check, which I doubt would be possible to do since **_IT_** wouldn’t appreciate it either.”

Jiraiya’s eyes widened at the sudden blunt statement the blond let out. While the Jonin present understood the hidden meaning of Naruto’s words, the few genins present were exchanging confused looks, trying to discern what Naruto was raving on about.

“I’d advise you to stay away from him.” A neutral voice spoke behind the small group of genins.

Naruto smiled, recognizing the chakra signature clearer than he could before while everyone else turned their heads to the source of the chilling voice. Gaara stared at them all, a hint of anger in his eyes when he noticed how they had cornered the one thing he appreciated most in life right now.

“He’ll have to answer our questions sooner or later” Jiraiya spoke out as he noticed three previously hidden figures behind Gaara.

“Until you leave Sand Village, Uzumaki Naruto is under my care. Once you’ve left, you can do as you please.” Gaara reminded them. If it wasn’t for the fragile alliance with Leaf, he’d probably kill them all right now without a second thought.

Three Anbu stood tensely behind Gaara, clearly keeping a safe distance between themselves and the young redhead. “The Kazekage is ready to meet with Konoha’s shinobis. We are here to escort you to him.”

“We appreciate this, but we still – “ Gai began to explain, but his attempt was quickly discarded by the Anbu leader.

“The Kazekage is not a man who likes to wait.” The Anbu stated sternly.

“If you are worried about that missing-nin” The Anbu gave a slight nod in Naruto’s direction, “It is unlikely that he’ll escape with _him_ as his caretaker.”

“So if you would please follow us.” The Anbu on the right continued.

Jiraiaya, Kakashi and Gai looked at each other. It definitely wasn’t the best scenario at the moment, but seeing how tempers were at a all-time high, a break would be more than welcome to appease everyone’s emotional state.

“Shikamaru, you and Sakura to go wake those still sleeping. Tell them we are meeting the Kazekage.” Jiraiya quickly ordered the Chunin who nodded in return.

While Shikamaru and Sakura gathered the others, Kakashi and Gai let those still present outside thesand-nin’s home, not wanting any more confrontations to take place. The Anbu were quick to disappear when they saw the remaining Leaf join those outside.

Jiraiya was the only remaining Leaf shinobi in the house.

“We’ll be back soon. When I come back, you and I are having a serious talk _. Alone_.” Jiraiya had informed his only student before he walked outside the house to meet up with the Anbu and remaining Leaf shinobis.

When they wouldn’t feel any of the Leaf’s chakra anymore, Naruto took a few deep breaths, finally letting his composure break. His back hit the pantry door, sliding down until he reached the floor.

Gaara approached him, “I shouldn’t have left you.” He said, looking down at the blond.

“No, it actually felt good you know? I’ve been holding that in for a long time…” Naruto said, looking up and gave a soft smile to the sand-nin.

“Gaara! Naruto!” Temari shouted through the house.

“We’re in here.” Naruto spoke out loud enough for the girl to hear, well aware that Gaara wouldn’t speak up.

The female kunoichi stepped in the kitchen, noticing Naruto sitting the floor. “Are you alright? I heard shouting and all and – “ Temari asked, walking towards the pair.

He blinked twice, dumbfounded. “You were worried?”

“Of course. With the Leaf staying here, and Gaara’s instinct to protect you, add yelling to it all, I thought someone got hurt.” Temari explained.

“Thank you.” Naruto’s voice was softer, grateful for a change.

She looked at him curiously, cocking her head to the left. “What for?”

“Not many really care to ask and be sincere about it.” Naruto let out with a smile, lifting himself off the floor, standing on his feet.

She furrowed her eyebrows, “What about your teammates or the people in your Village?” Temari asked. She remembered their first encounter back in Konoha, the loudmouth, high-strung shinobi was very different than what she witnessed when he was by Gaara’s side.

“My teammates and sensei couldn’t give a damn if I disappeared or not, as for the Villagers, they all hate me. The only person that showed me any kind of worry and yet respect, was my Academic’s teacher, Iruka-sensei. Even so, his job as a teacher takes a lot of his time, and one person alone isn’t enough to make you stay in a Village that only wants to kill you.” Naruto explained.

“I’m sure Gaara understands you more than anyone for that…” It made more sense now to her. Naruto’s story resembled closely that of Gaara’s in more ways than one, but from what she understood, Naruto was utterly and completely alone. Although Gaara was mostly alone as well, he had Yashamaru and even herself and Kankuro who tried at least to be present in the redhead’s life.

“We’re actually more alike than people would think.” Naruto chuckled, looking over to the sand-nin. Who would have known that their demons would actually be the reason for their recent bond and whatever this was turning into.

Temari realized something, “That reminds me, where are the Leaf?” After all she rushed back here because of the shouting and yelling she heard.

Gaara looked over to her, “Anbu took them to meet the Kazekage.”

“Father must be in a hurry to settle the matter to have them come to his office this early in the morning.” She added.

Naruto looked left and right at the sand-nins, clearly confused.

“The Kazekage? Wasn’t that the guy the snake bastard replaced at the Chuunin Exams? And where the heck was he? After all he’s a ‘ _kage_ ’ and should have been present instead of hiding…” Naruto rambled on, so many questions pooped into his head.

Noticing his non-stop chattering, Gaara began, “Actually, the Kazekage was to be at the Chuunin Exams in Leaf Village.”

“Then why was it the snake bastard instead of him?”

“Because Orochimaru killed him before he made it to the Leaf.”

Naruto’s eyes widened, “Wha …?”

“The Sand has wanted for some time to take Konoha down. Kazekage was approached by Sound Village, which Orochimaru was in charge of. That man made a deal with us, so we could defeat Konoha.”

“Then if Orochimaru killed your Kazekage before he could reach Konoha, then who are the Leaf meeting right now?” Naruto asked, clearly still perplexed.

“The Kazekage, our father.” Gaara replied angrily. Referring to that man as his father always left him with an aversion.

“Didn’t he get killed?”

“When you live within our Village, you learn quite fast that you can’t trust many people that easily. Our father suspected that Orochimaru and the Sound might betray us, but we didn’t know when or how. And so, our father decided to send a replacement, dressed as him, as the Kazekage in case Orochimaru would try to eliminate him.” Temari finished.

“So that snake bastard doesn’t know that he actually killed a replacement, and not the real one …” Naruto rephrased in much simpler words.

“Something Orochimaru will discover sooner or later.” Gaara added, not that he cared if the Kazekage were to be eliminated.

“So why make the alliance in the first place if he had doubts of being betrayed?” Naruto asked.

“As I said earlier, the Kazekage and others held a great grudge against the Leaf and would do anything to repay them the favor, siding with Orochimaru was risky, but they couldn’t pass up the opportunity.”

“So now the Kazekage wants peace between Konoha and Sand?” Naruto asked.

“Yes. Our father has a new goal that takes priority from destroying the Leaf.”

“Oh?”

“With the Leaf as our ally once again, it will be easier to get information about Orochimaru. After that, we can hunt him down for thinking so lowly of the Sand.” Temari added.

“At least the Leaf won’t be the only ones hunting that bastard down anymore.” Naruto commented. The fact that the poor excuse of a human was still at large after so many _problems_ , he wondered why no one did anything before.

Kankuro shouted from another section of the house. “Temari! We have to go! Baki-sensei is waiting for us!”

“Coming!” Temari shouted back.

“Training?” Naruto asked out of pure curiosity.

“Yes, we have a few - ” Temari started when she noticed Gaara narrowing his eyes at her. “- I’ll be going.” She gave a quick nod before leaving the house, the door shutting loudly behind her.

He looked at the redhead calmly, “How about we go train? I could use the exercises and distraction actually.” The boy suggested with a small smile. It would be quite different having Gaara as a sparring partner. He was about to walk away when Gaara caught his wrist, stopping him from going further. “Gaara? What’s – “

“We need to talk.”

To be continued.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A lot happened in this chapter (like there's a lot of characters to manage in scenes!) and we got to see that the current Kazekage is still Rasa. Hope you enjoyed the chaos so far and there's more to come for sure. Let me know your thoughts! ^_^
> 
> Feel free to check my profile for updates and stories I work on. I tend to have post whatever passes through my head or what my muse encourages me to pursue with a passion!
> 
> Thank you again for reading, commenting and/or kudosing (is that even a word?) They truly make my day because I have been through some crap with work lately.
> 
> Ookima

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed reading the first chapter of many many to come.  
> I am amazed at how my writing skills evolved in the past 15 years honestly (in a good way!).
> 
> Honestly I had fun revisiting everything and I hope to post even more stories and oneshots since I have like a binder full of ideas. I just need more time to write!
> 
> Comments, reviews are always welcome and much appreciated =D


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